By the Shortest of Heads

Last updated

By the Shortest of Heads
By the Shortest of Heads
Directed by Bert Haldane
Produced by Barker Motion Photography
Starring George Formby
Release date
  • 1915 (1915)
CountryUnited Kingdom

By the Shortest of Heads was a 1915 British film starring George Formby as a stableboy who outwits a gang of villains. It was Formby's first film; he was aged ten at the time. The film is now considered lost, with the last-known copy having been destroyed in 1940.

Contents

Plot

Formby played a stable boy who outwits a gang of villains and wins a £10,000 prize when he comes first in a horse race. [1]

Cast

Background

Formby while employed as a jockey, aged 10 in 1915 George Formby in 1915.jpg
Formby while employed as a jockey, aged 10 in 1915

George Formby Snr was worried that his son, George Formby, would watch him on stage and begin a career on stage; he was against the boy following in his footsteps, saying "one fool in the family is enough". [2] [3] After a year of Formby working at a stables in Middleham, he was apprenticed to Thomas Scourfield at Epsom, where he ran his first professional races at the age of 10, when he weighed less than 4 stone (56 lb; 25 kg). [4] In 1915 Formby Snr allowed his son to appear on screen, taking the lead in By the Shortest of Heads. [1] After completing the filming, Formby Jnr was sent to Ireland to continue his jockey training, as were the five horses Formby had purchased that year, which joined others he had previously bought. [5] [6]

The film is now considered lost, with the last-known copy having been destroyed in 1940. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabiscuit</span> American champion thoroughbred racehorse (1933–1947)

Seabiscuit was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse special at Pimlico and was voted American Horse of the Year for 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Formby</span> English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian (1904–1961)

George Formby was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he sang light, comic songs, usually playing the ukulele or banjolele, and became the UK's highest-paid entertainer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Buchanan</span> Scottish actor, singer, director and producer (1891–1957)

Walter John Buchanan 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 Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in America for his role in the classic Hollywood musical The Band Wagon in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beryl Ingham</span> British dancer and talent manager

Beryl Ingham was the wife and manager of singer/actor George Formby, as well as being a variety performer and champion clogdancer.

<i>The Far Country</i> (film) 1954 film by Anthony Mann

The Far Country is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan, John McIntire and Corinne Calvet. Written by Borden Chase, the film is about a self-minded adventurer who locks horns with an evil, corrupt judge while driving cattle to Dawson, Yukon Territory. It is one of the few Westerns to be set in Alaska — others include The Spoilers (1955) and North to Alaska (1960) — although it was not filmed there. This was the fourth Western film collaboration between Anthony Mann and James Stewart. The supporting cast features Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Steve Brodie, Robert J. Wilke, Chubby Johnson, Royal Dano and Jack Elam.

<i>Big Jake</i> 1971 film

Big Jake is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years, and Maureen O'Hara's last film with John Wayne and her last before her twenty-year retirement. The supporting cast features Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Glenn Corbett, Jim Davis, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr. and Hank Worden.

<i>No Limit</i> (1935 film) 1935 British musical comedy film by Monty Banks

No Limit is a 1935 British musical comedy starring George Formby and Florence Desmond. The film, which was directed by Monty Banks, was made on location at the TT motorcycle race on the Isle of Man. It was the first of eleven films that Formby made for Associated Talking Pictures.

<i>Its in the Air</i> (1938 film) 1938 British film

It’s in the Air is a 1938 British comedy film written and directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring George Formby, Polly Ward and Jack Hobbs. The film was released in the United States with the alternative title George Takes the Air in 1940. The film depicts Great Britain's preparations for war with Air Raid Warden training, mock air attacks dropping poison gas bombs, and the deployment of anti-aircraft weapons in the streets.

<i>Trouble Brewing</i> (1939 film) 1939 British film

Trouble Brewing is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring George Formby, Googie Withers and Gus McNaughton. It was made by Associated Talking Pictures, and includes the songs "Fanlight Fanny" and "Hitting the Highspots Now". The film is based on a novel by Joan Butler, and the sets were designed by art director Wilfred Shingleton.

William Herbert Lee was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Formby Sr</span> English comedian and singer (1875-1921)

George Formby was an English comedian and singer in musical theatre, known as one of the greatest music hall performers of the early 20th century. His comedy played upon Lancashire stereotypes, and he was popular around Britain. His nickname, "The Wigan Nightingale", was coined because of the way he would use his bronchial cough as a comedic device in his act.

"When I'm Cleaning Windows" is a comedy song performed by Lancastrian comic, actor and ukulele player George Formby. It first appeared in the 1936 film Keep Your Seats, Please. The song was credited as written by Formby, Harry Gifford and Fred E. Cliffe. Formby performed the song in A♭ in Keep Your Seats, Please. For the single release, the key was changed to B♭.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mort Mills</span> American actor (1919–1993)

Mort Mills was an American film and television actor who had roles in over 150 movies and television episodes. He was often the town lawman or the local bad guy in many popular westerns of the 1950s and 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Shiner</span> British stand-up comedian and comedy actor (1903–1966)

Ronald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.

<i>Spare a Copper</i> 1940 film by John Paddy Carstairs

Spare a Copper is a 1940 British black-and-white musical comedy war film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring George Formby, Dorothy Hyson and Bernard Lee. It was produced by Associated Talking Pictures. It is also known as Call a Cop. The film features the songs, "I'm the Ukulele Man", "On the Beat", "I Wish I Was Back on the Farm" and "I'm Shy". Beryl Reid makes her film debut in an uncredited role, while Ronald Shiner appears similarly uncredited, in the role of the Piano Mover and Tuner.

<i>Turned Out Nice Again</i> 1941 film by Marcel Varnel

Turned Out Nice Again is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring the Lancashire-born comedian George Formby.

<i>Come On George!</i> 1939 film by Anthony Kimmins

Come On George! is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins which stars George Formby, with Pat Kirkwood and Joss Ambler in support. It was made by Associated Talking Pictures. Hal Erickson wrote in Allmovie: "Come on George! was a product of George Formby's peak movie years." It concerns the world of horse racing, and Formby, who had once been a stable apprentice, did his own riding in the film. Songs featured are "I'm Making Headway Now", "I Couldn't Let The Stable Down", "Pardon Me", and "Goodnight Little Fellow, Goodnight".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Formby on screen, stage, record and radio</span>

The English comic, singer and actor George Formby (1904–1961) performed in many mediums of light entertainment, including film, radio and theatre. His career spanned from 1915 until December 1960. During that time he became synonymous with playing "a shy, innocent, gauche, accident-prone Lancashire lad".

<i>The Trainers Daughter; or, A Race for Love</i> 1907 American film

The Trainer's Daughter; or, A Race for Love is an American silent film directed by James Searle Dawley and Edwin S. Porter, and produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company.

Skybound is a 1935 American action film directed by Raymond K. Johnson and starring Lloyd Hughes, Edward J. Nugent and Lona Andre. It was produced as an independent second feature on Poverty Row and distributed by Puritan Pictures. The film's sets were designed by the art director Vin Taylor.

References

  1. 1 2 Fisher 1975, p. 49.
  2. "George Formby: A Man With Pride in his Roots". The Guardian . Manchester. 7 March 1961. p. 16.
  3. Bret 1999, pp. 6–7.
  4. Bret 1999, p. 7.
  5. 1 2 Smart & Bothway Howard 2011, p. 51.
  6. Bret 1999, p. 8.

Sources