''The Loves of Robert Burns'' is a 1930 British

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and starring

Joseph Hislop Joseph Hislop (5 April 18846 May 1977) was a Scottish lyric tenor who appeared in opera and oratorio and gave concerts around the world. He sang at La Scala, Milan, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and the Opéra-Comique, Paris, a ...

, Dorothy Seacombe and

Eve Gray Eve Gray (27 November 1900 – 23 May 1983) was an English film actress. Born Fanny Evelyn Garrett, she was taken to Australia as a child and later had a stage career there. She returned to England in 1924 and within three days of arrival had ...

. It depicts the life of the Scottish poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

Cast

... Robert Burns * Dorothy Seacombe ... Jean Armour *

... Mary Campbell *

Nancy Price Nancy Price, CBE (3 February 1880 – 31 March 1970), was an English actress on stage and screen, author and theatre director. Her acting career began in a repertory theatre company before progressing to the London stage, silent films, talkies and ...

... Posie Nancy *

Jean Cadell Jean Dunlop Cadell (13 September 1884 – 29 September 1967) was a Scottish character actress. Although her married name was Jean Dunlop Perceval-Clark she retained her maiden name in the context of acting. Life and career She was born at 4 ...

... Mrs. Burns *

C. V. France Charles Vernon France (30 June 1868 – 13 April 1949) was a British actor, usually credited as C. V. France. Stage career France appeared (along with Ralph Richardson) in William Somerset Maugham's 1932 play ''For Services Rendered: A Play ...

... Lord Farquhar * Neil Kenyon ... Tam the Tinkler * George Baker ... Soldier *

Harold Saxon-Snell Harold Saxon-Snell (1889–1956) was a British stage and film actor. He appeared in twenty-three films during the silent and early sound eras. He is often credited as H. Saxon-Snell or Harold Snell. He and actress Kathleen Boutall married in 1 ...

... Gavin Hamilton *

Craighall Sherry Craighall Sherry (April 8, 1869; Glasgow, Scotland, UK - 1943 (age 73); Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK) was a British stage and film actor. Selected filmography * '' The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands'' (1927) * ''Spione'' (1928) * '' Number ...

... James Armour * Wilfred Shine ... Sailor

Production

The film was the first joint production between Herbert Wilcox Productions, and His Master's Voice gramophone company. The aim of this was to give Wilcox access to their celebrity recording stars such as Chaliapin, John McCormick, Galli-Curci,

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

and others. For the lead he cast the Scottish tenor

Reception

Wilcox later wrote it was "a good film, I thought, but not commercially successful" which led to the gramophone company ending the relationship with Wilcox. "Had I chosen a less indigenous subject and a greater name star, the story might have been vastly different," wrote Wlcox.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "another film which was manufactured with a particular eye to American consumption has on its showing here fallen far short of standards set by British critics...It was thought that the story of the Scottish poet whose fame has been spread throughout the world by his fervently admiring countrymen would command a certain amount of universal appeal. An undoubted opportunity has been missed in that respect. Joseph Hislop, a well-known and popular tenor, was selected for the rôle of the poet, and he does his part, so far as the rendering of a series of Burns's famous songs is concerned, as well as could be desired. On the other hand, the photographic work is much below the standard and the character of Bobbie is divested of most of those qualities which endeared him to his readers as a man as his verse commended him to them as a poet. "The Loves of Robert Burns," indeed, was so unsatisfactory to the London public that it was withdrawn at the end of one week's trial at a central cinema, although it had been largely advertised in advance. Herbert Wilcox was the producer and apparently he fell between two stools—that of finding a singer who could do justice to Bobbie Burns's "Comin' Through the Rye" and other equally famous ballads, and an actor who could present an adequate picture of Robbie the man" ; and more recently, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' called it a "poorly produced life of the famed writer that is short on fact and long on fancy. Hislop, a noted operatic tenor, is about the best thing the film has going. He gives a fairly good performance and handles the songs well. However the script is a joke. Though the title implies that several affairs will be dealt with, in reality there are only two. Gray and Seacombe are Hislop's two lovers, both historically inaccurate. The film shows Seacombe being seduced and being made into "an honest woman" by Burns, when in reality they married and had several children. This story gives them no family at all. The Scottish settings are used nicely, but the actors keep forgetting what country they are in and their accents change from scene to scene. Better to buy an anthology of Burns' work than to deal with the mess here."

References

*Wilcox, Herbert, ''Twenty Five Thousand Sunsets'', 1967

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loves Of Robert Burns, The 1930 films British historical musical films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Herbert Wilcox 1930s historical musical films Cultural depictions of Robert Burns British black-and-white films British and Dominions Studios films Films shot at Imperial Studios, Elstree 1930s British films