''The Laughter of Fools'' is a 1933 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

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 D. A. Clarke-Smith,

Derrick De Marney Derrick Raoul Edouard Alfred De Marney (21 September 1906 – 18 February 1978) was an English stage and film actor and producer, of French and Irish ancestry. Actor The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of ...

and

Helen Ferrers Helen Ferrers (1869–1943), born Helen Finney, was a British stage and film actress. Personal life Helen Finney was born in Cookham in Berkshire, the daughter of a London coal merchant and the younger sister of the actress May Fortescue ( ...

. It was based on a play by

H. F. Maltby Henry Francis Maltby (25 November 1880 – 25 October 1963) was a prolific writer for the London stage and British cinema from after the First World War, until the 1950s. He also appeared in many films. Life and career Born in Ceres, Cape Co ...

. The screenplay concerns an ambitious mother who plans to marry her daughter to a sea captain. The film was 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 ...

made at

Nettlefold Studios Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England.Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

by the independent producer George Smith as part of a contract from

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

who needed a supply of films to distribute in order to comply with the terms of the quota.

Cast

* D. A. Clarke-Smith as Plunket *

as Captain Vidal *

as Mrs. Gregg *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in ...

as John Gregg * Granville Ferrier as Hughes Sr. * Pat Paterson as Doris Gregg * Minnie Taylor as Elizabeth * George Thirlwell as Bertie Gregg *

Dorothy Vernon Dorothy Vernon (1544 – 24 June 1584), the younger daughter of Sir George Vernon and Margaret ''nee'' Talbois (or Tailboys), was the heiress of Haddon Hall, an English country house in Derbyshire with its origins in the 12th century. She marr ...

as Cook * Fred Withers as Nuttall

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve. ''Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' film''. British Film Institute, 2007. * Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film: Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.

External links

* 1933 films 1933 drama films British drama films Films shot at Nettlefold Studios Films directed by Adrian Brunel British films based on plays Films set in England British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Quota quickies {{1930s-UK-film-stub