''Young Man's Fancy'' is a 1939 British

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

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

Robert Stevenson Robert, Rob, or Bob Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer ("Treasure Island"), grandson of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenso ...

and starring

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, the ...

, Griffith Jones, and

Seymour Hicks Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...

. The screenplay concerns an aristocratic Englishman who is unhappily engaged to a brewery heiress but meets Ada, an Irish human cannonball, during a visit to a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

and falls in love with her. Together they are trapped in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

during the '' Siege of Paris'' (1870-1871). The screenplay was written by

Roland Pertwee Roland Pertwee (15 May 1885 – 26 April 1963) was an English playwright, film and television screenwriter, director and actor. He was the father of ''Doctor Who'' actor Jon Pertwee and playwright and screenwriter Michael Pertwee. He was al ...

and Stevenson, with additional dialogue by

Rodney Ackland Rodney Ackland (18 May 1908 in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex – 6 December 1991 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey) was an English playwright, actor, theatre director and screenwriter. Born as Norman Ackland Bernstein in Southend, Essex, to a Jewish fa ...

and E.V.H. Emmett. The character of Ada, written especially for

by Stevenson, her husband, is "based on Zazel, the original 'human cannon ball', who thrilled London audiences in the ighteennineties by being shot from a cannon" — however, "for the purposes of the film … the period f the screenplayhas been put back to the seventies"."Film World: Ana Lee Returns", ''The West Australian'', (Thursday, 6 April 1939), p.3
/ref>

Cast

Notes

External links

* 1939 films 1939 romantic comedy films 1930s historical comedy films 1930s English-language films British romantic comedy films British historical comedy films Ealing Studios films British black-and-white films Franco-Prussian War films Films set in England Films set in London Films set in Paris Films set in France Films set in the 19th century Films set in the 1870s Films directed by Robert Stevenson British historical romance films 1930s historical romance films 1930s British films Films scored by Ernest Irving English-language romantic comedy films English-language historical comedy films English-language historical romance films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub

Cast

See also

Notes

External links