''The Admiral's Secret'' is a 1934 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

Guy Newall Guy Newall (25 May 1885 – 25 February 1937) was a UK, British actor, screenwriter and film director in a career that encompassed the silent film, silent era of film-making to the early years of sound film, sound films. Newall was a theatre act ...

and starring

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won t ...

James Raglan James Raglan (6 January 1901 – 15 November 1961) was a British stage, film and television actor. In Australia Early in 1935 he was brought out to Australia with the Gabriel Toyne company by J. C. Williamson, playing ''Laburnum Grove'' and ...

and Dorothy Black. It was based on a play by Cyril Campion and filmed at

Twickenham Studios Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. The film's sets were designed by James Carter. A

quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act 1927 ( 17 & 18 Geo. 5. c. 29) was an act of the UK Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received royal assent on 22 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. Description T ...

, it was released by the American company

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

Premise

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

a gang of Spanish criminals search for a trove of stolen gems hidden by a retired British

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

.BFI Film & TV Database The ADMIRAL'S SECRET (1934)

Cast

as Admiral Fitzporter *

as Frank Bruce * Hope Davy as Pamela Fitzporter *

Aubrey Mather Aubrey Mather (17 December 1885 – 16 January 1958) was an English character actor. Career Mather was born in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, and began his career on the stage in 1905. He debuted in London in ''Brewster's Millions'' in ...

as Captain Brooke *

Edgar Driver Edgar Driver (1 November 188515 September 1964) was a British actor."Edgar Driver"
at BFI.

Selec ...

as Sam Hawkins *

Abraham Sofaer Abraham Isaac Sofaer (1 October 1896 – 21 January 1988) was a Burmese-born British actor who began his career on stage and became a familiar supporting player in film and on television in his later years. Life and career Sofaer was born in R ...

as Don Pablo y Gonzales * Dorothy Black as Donna Teresa *

Andreas Malandrinos Andreas Malandrinos (; 14 November 1888, in Greece – 11 July 1970, in Surrey) was a Greek-born actor who started appearing in British films from 1909, until his death 61 years later in Surrey, England. He was fluent in six languages and used ...

as Guido d'Elvira * D. J. Williams as Questa * Agnes Imlay as Mrs. Pinchcliffe

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* 1934 films 1934 comedy films British comedy films British black-and-white films British films based on plays Films directed by Guy Newall British seafaring films Films set in Devon Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios Quota quickies 1930s English-language films 1930s British films English-language comedy films Films scored by William Trytel {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub