Wednesday 1 May 2019

Storm in a Teacup (1937 Ian Dalrymple, Victor Saville)

Made by Alexander Korda studios. A former editor, Dalrymple also worked (uncredited) on the script of Pygmalion. This is based on a German play by Bruno Frank, which it seems was Anglo-Scottishized by James Bridie - Dalrymple and Donald Bull wrote the screenplay. It's all about a journalist who stands up to the Procter over the case of an unlicensed dog which is to be put down - what an idiot.

Rex Harrison is the idealistic journalist, Cecil Parker the politician and pre-GWTW Vivien Leigh his daughter, with Sara Allgood the dog-owner (Cluny Brown, The Spiral Staircase, Challenge to Lassie) who says things like "It's incontinental... the poor and the needless...". Ivor Barnard is down the cast list, not sure who the Judge is.

Her golf ball hits him on the bum.
He: "Your 'fore!' was rather late."
Her: "So was your aft."

Good fun. Cheeky montages typical of pre-war British cinema e.g. mooing cow to politician's face, well edited by William Hornbeck. Amazing dog invasion scene. Mutz Greenbaum shot it (before he felt he should change his name to Max Greene).

Allgood, unnamed child, Leigh, Harrison - and a lollipop. Is that Henley-on-Thames in the background?

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