This film was discovered in a vault at Pinewood some years ago having long thought to be lost.It is one of 19 quota quickies directed by Michael Powell.However he does not refer to the film at all in either of his autobiographies.An example of the disdain in which the films were held particularly by the people who made them.Perhaps if they had had the chance to actually watch them again they would revise their views.This is an extremely bright and engaging film from beginning to end.Unlike many quota films it turns its limitations to its advantage.The cast is for one a great surprise.Jerry Verno shows what he can achieve in a lead role.Not something he would get any chance of in his subsequent career,his girlfriend Polly ward ended up playing in George Formby films and her film career petered out in the 40s.Peter Gawthorne normally seen as an officer here plays a singing butler.Muriel George plays her usual maternal part but again she bursts into song.Ben Weldon as the manager is also given a leading role in which he excels unlike the second or third hood in a Warner's gangster film.the actress who plays the movie star is at least to me a complete unknown and this would appear to be her only film role which is a shame. The musical numbers tie in with the plot in a way that may be copying films such as "Love Me tonight".It is clear that the musical numbers are being photographed and recorded simultaneously as that was the practice of the time.Not till the later thirties did playback become the standard.At the end of the film there is featured an early version of a helicopter.All in all this is one of the best quota quickies i have ever seen.
4 Reviews
A silly film -- which is a good thing
Igenlode Wordsmith24 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This picture starts off with the advantage -- for a comedy -- that it is extremely silly. In fact, almost all the musical numbers are played for outright laughs, in some cases ranging into the jaw-droppingly bizarre. Perhaps the most notable musical element is the theme song for the two Bolshevik con-men (or possibly con-men posing as Bolsheviks), which crops up repeatedly in its instantly-recognisable instrumental form to accompany their various appearances. All the cast -- save perhaps Polly Ward as the Communist love-interest Leninia -- are singing 'in character' rather than as vocalists, so with the exception of the (uncredited) opening voice-over the instrumental versions of the tunes are more memorable. The vocals are undoubtedly funnier, though...
Jerry Verno stars as the hapless Bert, a man around whom events fall thick and fast without his having much to do with it. He gets into trouble and then out of it through no agency of his own, a quiet little Cockney who just wants his job as a plumber, and his girl. Unfortunately the girl is a staunch Communist of the Hyde-Park-Corner variety, while his father (via means not elucidated) was, shortly before his demise, abruptly elevated to the House of Lords after a lifetime as a staunch trade unionist; if pretty Leninia finds out that her Bert is a running pig-dog of a class-traitor, the romance is likely to be off.
On the other hand, his nominal possession of an English title (with the very un-aristocratic appellation of Lord "Thornton Heath"!) renders him a potentially attractive trophy for an American publicity agent for whom any Lord will do...
I made a point of seeing this film on Jerry Verno's account, having been taken by his supporting role in a recently-shown clip from the 1936 "Gypsy Melody"; but it is really Ben Welden who steals the show with his role as the hyperactive, hyper-American publicity man Washington Roosevelt Lincoln (or "Washy" to his film-star client and former wife, self-styled Empress of the screen Ilya Myona). Welden's performance is so far over the top as to dominate the film as he swings from crestfallen to cocky in a matter of seconds and physically hurls himself around Bert to prevent his exit. Even when banished behind a screen by Miss Myona he is constantly bobbing up, in preparation for the ensuing grand scene in which he orchestrates an entire quick-change marital photoshoot, from dissipated night-club to misty grouse-moors, in a matter of minutes. His grin is enormous, his faith in the English aristocracy unshakable (even if his grasp of their titles is a little shaky), and his self-belief is colossal. In a film that contains many over-the-top characters his is perhaps the most memorably preposterous; and ultimately a little endearing.
Janet Megrew vamps it up effectively as the equally nobility-fixated Ilya Myona, with her sultry poses and instant journalists' copy, who plans to marry and then divorce a Lord -- any Lord -- in order to keep her name in the papers. (Was Walton-on-Thames allowing itself here a few digs at Hollywood habits?) Muriel George seems to have a permanent smile affixed to her face as Bert's mother, which rather restricts her range of performance; Patrick Ludlow is suitably chinless as the monocled Grimsthwaite.
Given the inclusion of several musical numbers, the running time for the plot is fairly short and the various complications fairly whiz along. Still, the picture finds time for some effective reaction shots and little visual jokes in addition to the broad burlesque. It's also fascinating as an example of a cut-price musical, with very limited space for choreography and musicians often imported into the on-screen action rather than a grand orchestra swelling off-screen. No dancing on the ceiling here, or even on the mantelpiece; the duettists have to squeeze together to fit in frame (or possibly to reduce the size of the set that has to be constructed behind them). Given the notorious extra cost of musical productions, it's amazing that anyone even tried such a thing -- but aided by its good-humoured slant and ambition not to take anything too seriously, the film more or less pulls it off.
"His Lordship" isn't as outright funny as its musical companion in the BFI's Missing Films season, "Lord Babs", but it's a thoroughly bizarre and enjoyable satire on the publicity machine and class-conflict alike -- boasting the distinction of surely having Britain's only Marxist musical heroine(!) -- and thanks to witty performances and some ambitious touches, is raised above the level of raw farce. And, as I mentioned, it's very silly, which helps.
Jerry Verno stars as the hapless Bert, a man around whom events fall thick and fast without his having much to do with it. He gets into trouble and then out of it through no agency of his own, a quiet little Cockney who just wants his job as a plumber, and his girl. Unfortunately the girl is a staunch Communist of the Hyde-Park-Corner variety, while his father (via means not elucidated) was, shortly before his demise, abruptly elevated to the House of Lords after a lifetime as a staunch trade unionist; if pretty Leninia finds out that her Bert is a running pig-dog of a class-traitor, the romance is likely to be off.
On the other hand, his nominal possession of an English title (with the very un-aristocratic appellation of Lord "Thornton Heath"!) renders him a potentially attractive trophy for an American publicity agent for whom any Lord will do...
I made a point of seeing this film on Jerry Verno's account, having been taken by his supporting role in a recently-shown clip from the 1936 "Gypsy Melody"; but it is really Ben Welden who steals the show with his role as the hyperactive, hyper-American publicity man Washington Roosevelt Lincoln (or "Washy" to his film-star client and former wife, self-styled Empress of the screen Ilya Myona). Welden's performance is so far over the top as to dominate the film as he swings from crestfallen to cocky in a matter of seconds and physically hurls himself around Bert to prevent his exit. Even when banished behind a screen by Miss Myona he is constantly bobbing up, in preparation for the ensuing grand scene in which he orchestrates an entire quick-change marital photoshoot, from dissipated night-club to misty grouse-moors, in a matter of minutes. His grin is enormous, his faith in the English aristocracy unshakable (even if his grasp of their titles is a little shaky), and his self-belief is colossal. In a film that contains many over-the-top characters his is perhaps the most memorably preposterous; and ultimately a little endearing.
Janet Megrew vamps it up effectively as the equally nobility-fixated Ilya Myona, with her sultry poses and instant journalists' copy, who plans to marry and then divorce a Lord -- any Lord -- in order to keep her name in the papers. (Was Walton-on-Thames allowing itself here a few digs at Hollywood habits?) Muriel George seems to have a permanent smile affixed to her face as Bert's mother, which rather restricts her range of performance; Patrick Ludlow is suitably chinless as the monocled Grimsthwaite.
Given the inclusion of several musical numbers, the running time for the plot is fairly short and the various complications fairly whiz along. Still, the picture finds time for some effective reaction shots and little visual jokes in addition to the broad burlesque. It's also fascinating as an example of a cut-price musical, with very limited space for choreography and musicians often imported into the on-screen action rather than a grand orchestra swelling off-screen. No dancing on the ceiling here, or even on the mantelpiece; the duettists have to squeeze together to fit in frame (or possibly to reduce the size of the set that has to be constructed behind them). Given the notorious extra cost of musical productions, it's amazing that anyone even tried such a thing -- but aided by its good-humoured slant and ambition not to take anything too seriously, the film more or less pulls it off.
"His Lordship" isn't as outright funny as its musical companion in the BFI's Missing Films season, "Lord Babs", but it's a thoroughly bizarre and enjoyable satire on the publicity machine and class-conflict alike -- boasting the distinction of surely having Britain's only Marxist musical heroine(!) -- and thanks to witty performances and some ambitious touches, is raised above the level of raw farce. And, as I mentioned, it's very silly, which helps.
Every Cockney A Lord
boblipton1 June 2020
Cockney plumber Jerry Verno finds out from his mother that he's a peer. This causes girlfriend Janet McGrew to wonder what else he's been hiding from her, and a couple of revolutionaries how to blackmail him. Meanwhile, American movie star Polly Ward and her publicity man and ex-husband Ben Weldon want to hire him for a publicity romance.
This early Michael Powell quota quickie zips along, with four songs in production numbers, a Scottish butler and an autogyro. The Americans are heartless, money-tossing, publicity mad maniacs, the revolutionaries have a song about how they are liars and thieves, and it's all utter nonsense. Verno was a jack of all trades in show business, and would work until his death in 1975, just shy of his 80th birthday. He soon would be limited to bit parts, but Michael Powell would use him occasionally, most notably as the doorkeeper inTHE RED SHOES. Keep an eye open during the montage ending the first musical number; it ends with a shot of 15-year-old Valerie Hobson in her screen debut.
This early Michael Powell quota quickie zips along, with four songs in production numbers, a Scottish butler and an autogyro. The Americans are heartless, money-tossing, publicity mad maniacs, the revolutionaries have a song about how they are liars and thieves, and it's all utter nonsense. Verno was a jack of all trades in show business, and would work until his death in 1975, just shy of his 80th birthday. He soon would be limited to bit parts, but Michael Powell would use him occasionally, most notably as the doorkeeper inTHE RED SHOES. Keep an eye open during the montage ending the first musical number; it ends with a shot of 15-year-old Valerie Hobson in her screen debut.
Anarchic take on celebrity culture, 1930s style!
gavin-8314 July 2020
Watched on youtube today, and I found this a revelation. Jerry Verno is incredibly likeable as a young plumber who just happens by chance to also be a Lord (not something he is keen on). For the first two thirds of the movie Verno is almost ever present as a calm at the centre of a whirl of comedic intrigue. His performance is very natural and not over-played like many contemporaries.
Indeed Michael Powell pulls very good performances from much of the cast, most notably Muriel George and Ben Welden as a vigorous publicity agent. The music is enjoyable, the choreography on a shoestring eyecatching and the pace of the movie exhilirating.
Even an autogyro to look out for at the climax. But Jerry steals it for me...wish movies had made better use of him.
Indeed Michael Powell pulls very good performances from much of the cast, most notably Muriel George and Ben Welden as a vigorous publicity agent. The music is enjoyable, the choreography on a shoestring eyecatching and the pace of the movie exhilirating.
Even an autogyro to look out for at the climax. But Jerry steals it for me...wish movies had made better use of him.
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