''Up with the Lark'' is a 1943 British musical

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 Philip Brandon and starring Ethel Revnell, Gracie West and Anthony Holles. A low-budget production during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, its main message is to treat the black marketeers as dangerous criminals.

Plot summary

During the

, two incompetent female detectives, Ethel and Gracie (played by the British radio comedians Ethel Revnell and Gracie West), disguise themselves as Land Girls, with the aim of exposing the

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

business that they believe a local hotel manager is running. Despite the two women's inept efforts, they eventually succeed.http://movies.tvguide.com/up-with-the-lark/review/121917

Cast

* Ethel Revnell - Ethel * Gracie West - Gracie * Anthony Holles - Martel *

Anthony Hulme Anthony Hulme (1910–2007) was a British film actor. Filmography * ''A Yank at Oxford'' (1938) * '' The Body Vanished'' (1939) * ''The Frozen Limits'' (1939) * ''They Came by Night'' (1940) * '' Laugh It Off'' (1940) * '' For Freedom'' (1940) * ...

- Mr Britt *

Johnnie Schofield Johnnie William Schofield (10 March 1889 – 9 September 1955) was a British actor, known for '' The Middle Watch'' (1948), ''Tawny Pipit'' (1944) and '' Melody of My Heart'' (1936). Early life John William Schofield was born on 10 March 1889 i ...

- Mr Tanner *

Lesley Osmond Lesley Osmond (23 November 1921 – March 1987) was a British actress. She appeared in the 1953 West End musical '' The Glorious Days''. Selected filmography * ''Asking for Trouble'' (1942) * ''In Which We Serve'' (1942) * ''We'll Meet Again'' ...

- Mabel * Alan Kane - Fred Tompkins *

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

- Reverend Swallow

Songs

The film contains several songs, largely detached from the plot. The two main songs are *Up With the Lark *Let's Go Cuckoo

References

External links

* 1943 films 1943 comedy films British comedy films British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-comedy-film-stub