''The Invader'' is a 1935 British
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Adrian Brunel
Adrian Brunel (4 September 1892 – 18 February 1958) was an English film director and screenwriter. Brunel's directorial career started in the silent era, and reached its peak in the latter half of the 1920s. His surviving work from the 1920s ...
and starring
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
,
Lupita Tovar
Guadalupe Natalia Tovar (27 July 1910 – 12 November 2016), known professionally as Lupita Tovar, was a Mexican-born American actress best known for her starring role in the 1931 Spanish-language version of '' Drácula'', filmed in Los Angeles b ...
and
Lyn Harding
David Llewellyn Harding (12 October 1867 – 26 December 1952), known professionally as Lyn Harding, was a Welsh actor who spent 40 years on the stage before entering British made silent films, talkies and radio. He had an imposing and menaci ...
. The film follows the same plot as its remake ''
Pest from the West
''Pest from the West'' is the first short subject starring American comedian Buster Keaton made for Columbia Pictures. Keaton made a total of ten films for the studio between 1939 and 1941.
Synopsis
Keaton is a millionaire vacationing in Mexico ...
'' (1939), with a millionaire setting out to win a local girl in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
The film was produced as a
quota quickie
The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928.
D ...
at
Isleworth Studios
Isleworth Studios is the common name of two former film studios in Great Britain.
__TOC__
Worton Hall Studios 1913–1952
Worton Hall Studios were based on Worton Hall, in Isleworth. This house was built in 1783 and rebuilt and extended in the ...
by British & Continental as part of a contract to supply films for
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
to meet its annual quota set by the British government. The film is also known under the
alternative title
An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...
''An Old Spanish Custom'',
Cast
*
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
as Leander Proudfoot
*
Lupita Tovar
Guadalupe Natalia Tovar (27 July 1910 – 12 November 2016), known professionally as Lupita Tovar, was a Mexican-born American actress best known for her starring role in the 1931 Spanish-language version of '' Drácula'', filmed in Los Angeles b ...
as Lupita Melez
*
Lyn Harding
David Llewellyn Harding (12 October 1867 – 26 December 1952), known professionally as Lyn Harding, was a Welsh actor who spent 40 years on the stage before entering British made silent films, talkies and radio. He had an imposing and menaci ...
as Gonzalo Gonzalez
*
Esme Percy
Saville Esmé Percy (8 August 1887 – 17 June 1957) was an English actor who specialized in the plays of G.B. Shaw and appeared in 40 films between 1930 and 1956. He was born in London and died in Brighton.
Partial filmography
* ''Murder ...
as Jose
*
Andreas Malandrinos
Andreas Malandrinos ( el, Ανδρέας Μαλανδρίνος; 14 November 1888, in Greece – 11 July 1970, in Surrey) was a Greek-born actor who started appearing in British films from 1930, until his death 40 years later in Surrey, England ...
as Carlos the barman
*
Clifford Heatherley
Clifford Heatherley Lamb (8 October 1888 in Preston, Lancashire – 15 September 1937 in London) was an English stage and film actor.
Filmography
* ''Henry VIII'' (1911)
* ''Bleak House'' (1920)
* ''The Tavern Knight'' (1920)
* '' The Myst ...
as Cheeseman
* Hilda Moreno as Carmita
*
Webster Booth
Webster Booth (21 January 1902 – 21 June 1984) was an English tenor, best remembered as the duettist partner of Anne Ziegler. He was also one of the finest tenors of his generation and was a distinguished oratorio soloist.
He was a chorister ...
as Cantina Singer
References
External links
*
''The Invader''at the
International Buster Keaton Society The International Buster Keaton Society Inc.— a.k.a. "The Damfinos"—is the official educational organization dedicated to comedy film producer-director-writer-actor-stuntman Buster Keaton.
Mission
According to the Damfinos, their mission is "t ...
1935 films
Films directed by Adrian Brunel
British black-and-white films
Films shot at Isleworth Studios
1935 comedy films
British comedy films
Films set in Mexico
Films produced by Sam Spiegel
1930s English-language films
1930s British films
{{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub