''We're Going to Be Rich'' is a 1938 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 comedy 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

Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States. Career Banks was born Mario ...

and starring

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made se ...

and

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...

Plot

During the 1880s Kit Dobson, an English

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

singer performing in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, has scraped together enough money to buy a passage home to Britain with plans to settle down. However, unknown to her, her unreliable boyfriend has used most of the money to buy a

gold mine Gold Mine may refer to: * Gold Mine (board game) *Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena *"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characteri ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. They arrive in Gold Rush Johannesburg only to find that they have been swindled. The only option left for them is for Kit to seek a job singing in a saloon run by an American known as Yankee Gordon.

Cast

as Kit Dobson *

as Dobbie *

as Yankee Gordon *

Coral Browne Coral Edith Browne (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included Broadway productions of '' Macbeth'' (1956), '' The Rehearsal'' (1963) and '' The Right Honourable Gent ...

as Pearl * Ted Smith as Tim *

Gus McNaughton Gus McNaughton (29 July 1881 – 18 November 1969), also known as Augustus Le Clerq and Augustus Howard, was an English film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1930 and 1947. He was born in London and died in Castor, Cambridgeshire. He ...

as Broderick * Charles Carson as Keeler *

Syd Crossley Syd Crossley (18 November 1885 – 1 November 1960) was an English stage and film actor. Born in London in 1885, Crossley began his career as a music hall comedian. He appeared in more than 110 films, often cast as a butler, between 1925 an ...

as Jake *

Hal Gordon Hal Gordon (1894–1946) was a British film actor. A character actor, he appeared in over 90 films in both comic and straight roles. He started off as a lawyer's clerk but finding it dull he decided on the stage, making his music hall debut i ...

as Charlie *

Robert Nainby Robert Nainby (1869–1948) was an Irish male actor. Filmography References External links * 1869 births 1948 deaths Male actors from Dublin (city) Irish male film actors 20th-century Irish male actors {{Ireland-actor-stub ...

as Judge * Charles Harrison as Rat Face * Tom Payne as Kinch * Don McCorkindale as Killer * Joe Mott as Manager * Alex Davies as Kimberley Kid

Production

The film was the first made following Fields switch from

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. It was shot at

Denham Studios Denham Film Studios was a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and David Lean's '' Great Expectations''. From the 1950s to the 1970s t ...

. It was made with a budget of $500,000.Aubrey Solomon, ''Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History'' Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 240
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1938 films 1938 musical comedy films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Monty Banks British musical comedy films 20th Century Fox films Films set in the 1880s Films set in Australia Films set in South Africa British historical comedy films 1930s historical musical films Films shot at Denham Film Studios British black-and-white films British historical musical films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub