''You'd Be Surprised!'' is a 1930 British

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

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

Walter Forde Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and Film director, director. Born in Lambeth, south London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era ...

and starring Forde, Joy Windsor and Frank Stanmore. The film was shot at the

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 ...

. It was made during the transition to

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

. Originally silent, it had synchronised songs and music added. A silent version was also released to cater to cinemas that hadn't converted to sound yet.

Premise

After dressing up as a prisoner for a

fancy dress A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Western culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock chara ...

party, a

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

is mistaken for a notorious escaped

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

Cast

as Walter *Joy Windsor as Maisie Vane * Frank Stanmore as Frankie *

Frank Perfitt Frank James Robert Perfitt (1880 – 1958) was a British film actor, born in Norwich, Norfolk in 1880. He died in Surrey in 1958. Selected filmography * '' The Flying Fifty-Five'' (1924) * '' Love and Hate'' (1924) * ''The Sins Ye Do'' (1924) * ...

as Major *

Douglas Payne Douglas Payne (1875 in England – 3 August 1965 in London, England) was a British actor of the silent era. Selected filmography * '' Maria Marten'' (1913) * '' The Harbour Lights'' (1914) * ''In the Ranks'' (1914) * ''Enoch Arden'' (1914) * '' ...

as Convict 99

Critical reception

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

described it as a "bouncy musical...At one point, the star ventures into

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film co ...

territory when he finds himself manacled to a huge and surly thug who drags our poor hero all over London. Much of the film suffers from substandard sound recording, though a few innovative audio effects emerge from the cacophony."

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* 1930 films British silent feature films Transitional sound films British musical comedy films British black-and-white films 1930 musical comedy films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Walter Forde Films shot at Nettlefold Studios Films set in England Butcher's Film Service films 1930s British films Silent comedy films {{Musical-comedy-film-stub