''Thursday's Child'' is a 1943 British

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by Rodney Ackland and starring

Sally Ann Howes Sally Ann Howes (20 July 1930 – 19 December 2021) was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film ''Chitty Chitt ...

and Wilfrid Lawson.BFI.org
/ref> It was produced by John Argyle and

Associated British Picture Corporation Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

Synopsis

A young girl, Fennis Wilson (

), is cast in a film which launches her career and makes her an overnight star – the very thing her older sister desperately wants. But stardom is the furthest thing from 12-year-old Fennis' mind; she is introspective and intellectual and has other goals for her life. When the hit film falls in her lap, it creates a situation that threatens to tear the family apart, while Fennis just wants everyone to be happy – especially herself.

Ronald Shiner Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 – 29 June 1966) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall. Early life and career When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal North-Wes ...

's character (Joe) plays a decisive role

Casting

''Thursday's Child'' was the first film for Howes. It was written and directed by Rodney Ackland, who was a neighbor of hers. Howes auditioned and was chosen for the part after over two hundred auditions of other girls.

Cast

as Fennis Wilson * Wilfrid Lawson as Frank Wilson *

Kathleen O'Regan Kathleen O'Regan (11 November 1903 – 10 December 1970), born Elizabeth Kathleen Melville, was an Irish actress, born in Sligo, best remembered for her roles in the first London performances of '' Juno and the Paycock'' and '' The Plough and t ...

as Ellen Wilson *

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

as David Penley * Eileen Bennett as Phoebe Wilson * Marianne Davis as Gloria Dewey * Gerhard Kempinski as Rudi Kauffmann *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early life ...

as Mr. Keith * Margaret Yarde as Mrs. Chard * Vera Bogetti as Madame Felicia *

Percy Walsh Percy Walsh (24 April 1888 in Luton, Bedfordshire – 19 January 1952 in London) was a British stage and film actor. His stage work included appearing in the London premieres of R.C.Sherriff's '' Journey's End'' (1928) and Agatha Christie's ''And ...

as Charles Lennox * Michael Allen as Jim Wilson * Margaret Drummond as Wendy Keith *

as Joe * Anthony Holles as Roy Todd

References

External links

''Thursday's Child''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* 1943 films 1943 comedy-drama films British black-and-white films British comedy-drama films Films set in London Films about filmmaking Films shot at Welwyn Studios 1940s English-language films 1940s British films Films scored by Charles Williams (composer) English-language comedy-drama films {{1940s-comedy-drama-film-stub