''This'll Make You Whistle'' is a 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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with a book by

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical theatre, musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. B ...

and

Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...

and music and lyrics by Maurice Sigler,

Al Goodhart Al Goodhart (January 26, 1905 – November 30, 1955) was an American songwriter, composer, pianist, radio announcer, writer, talent agent, and vaudeville entertainer. Life and career Al Goodhart born in New York City on January 26, 1905. He was edu ...

and

Al Hoffman Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...

. It premiered at the

Kings Theatre, Southsea The Kings Theatre is a theatre in Southsea, Portsmouth, designed by the architect Frank Matcham. It opened on 30 September 1907. It is operated by the Kings Theatre Trust Ltd. The building was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1976.

before beginning a 190 performance run in the West End lasting from 15 September 1936 until 27 February 1937, originally at the Palace Theatre before transferring to

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresa ...

. The show was created as a vehicle for the entertainer

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1890 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Gr ...

. The original London cast also included

Jean Gillie A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of litera ...

Elsie Randolph Elsie Randolph (9 December 1904 – 15 October 1982) was an English actress, singer and dancer. Randolph was born and died in London. She is best remembered for her partnership with Jack Buchanan in several stage and film musicals. She also a ...

, William Kendall,

David Hutcheson David Hutcheson (14 June 1905 – 18 February 1976) was a British character actor. He made his film debut in ''Fast and Loose'' in 1930 and played his only lead role in 1934's '' Romance in Rhythm''. He went on to specialise in hooray henrys, si ...

and Gordon Craig. Buchanan produced the show himself, in conjunction with C.B. Cochran. The sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Clifford Pember Clifford Fanshawe Pember (1881–1955) was a British art director notable for his set designs in British cinema and theatre. Pember worked on films during the late silent and early sound eras. Pember originally trained as an architect. In 1928 h ...

Adaption

A film version ''

This'll Make You Whistle ''This'll Make You Whistle'' is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Elsie Randolph and William Kendall. The film was based on the stage musical of the same title which Buchanan had starred ...

'' produced and directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

was released in November 1936 featuring much of the same cast currently performing on stage, who shot the film at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

before returning to the West End for the evening's performance.Wright p.185

References

Bibliography

* Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. * Wright, Adrian. ''Cheer Up! British Musical Films, 1929-1945''. Boydell Press, 2020. 1935 musicals British musicals West End musicals British plays adapted into films {{1930s-play-stub