''It's a Grand Old World'' is a 1937 British

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Herbert Smith Herbert Smith LLP was a multinational law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith and merged with the Australian law firm Freehills on 1 October 2012, forming Herb ...

and starring Sandy Powell,

Gina Malo Gina Malo (born Janet Flynn; June 1, 1909 – November 30, 1963) was an American film actress, born Janet Flynn in Cincinnati, Ohio. She appeared in a number of British films in the 1930s, often playing an American. Early career Though born i ...

and

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook i ...

. It was made at

Beaconsfield Studios Beaconsfield Film Studios is a British Television studio, television and Film studio, film studio in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. The studios were operational as a production site for films in 1922, and continued producing films - and, later, ...

. The film's sets were designed by

Norman Arnold Norman G. Arnold (19 September 1892 – 7 December 1963) was a British art director who designed the sets for over a hundred and twenty films. Early life and World War I Arnold studied architecture, interior decoration & design. During the First ...

Synopsis

An unemployed man wins the

football pools In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may enc ...

, and decides to buy a

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

for his actress girlfriend.

Cast

* Sandy Powell as Sandy *

as Joan *

as Brian *

Frank Pettingell Frank Edmund George Pettingell (1 January 1891 – 17 February 1966) was an English actor. Pettingell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Manchester University. During the First World War he served with the King's Liverpool R ...

as Bull *

Garry Marsh Garry Marsh (21 May 1902 – 6 March 1981) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Born Leslie March Gerahty on 21 May 1902 in St Margarets, Middlesex, his parents were George and Laura. His elder brothers were the author Digby George ...

as Stage Manager *

Ralph Truman Ralph du Vergier Truman (7 May 1900 – 15 October 1977) was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice. He was born in London, England. Truman originally studied at ...

as Banks *

Fewlass Llewellyn Fewlass Llewellyn (5 March 1886 – 16 June 1941) was an English actor, playwright and theatrical producer. Previously an engineer, he made his stage debut in 1890, and appeared in various film roles, often as authority figures. A play he co-wro ...

as Father * John Turnbull as Auctioneer * Iris Charles as Girl in the Car

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* 1937 films British comedy films British black-and-white films 1937 comedy films Films directed by Herbert Smith Films shot at Beaconsfield Studios Films set in England 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub