Come Out of the Pantry

Last updated

Come Out of the Pantry
"Come Out of the Pantry" (1935).jpg
British song sheet tie in
Directed by Jack Raymond
Written byAustin Parker
Douglas Furber
Based ona novel by Alice Duer Miller
a play by A.E. Thomas
Produced by Herbert Wilcox
Starring Jack Buchanan
Fay Wray
Cinematography Freddie Young
Edited by Frederick Wilson
Music byHarry Perritt and his Orchestra
Production
company
Herbert Wilcox Productions (for) British and Dominions
Distributed by United Artists (UK)
Release dates
  • 25 November 1935 (1935-11-25)(London, UK)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Language English

Come Out of the Pantry is a 1935 British musical film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Jack Buchanan, Fay Wray, James Carew and Fred Emney. It is based on a 1916 novel of the same name by Alice Duer Miller, and features musical numbers by Al Hoffman, Al Goodhart and Maurice Sigler. [1]

Contents

Plot

A British aristocrat, Lord Robert Brent, travels to New York City to sell some paintings. He deposits the money from the sale in a bank, but when the bank collapses, he finds himself stranded in America with no money and many bills. By chance, Robert meets the old family butler, Eccles, who is now working in New York for the wealthy Beach-Howard family. Eccles helps Roberts to take up employment as a footman in the Beach-Howard household. Robert becomes romantically involved with the young niece, Hilda Beach-Howard. She begins to suspect his true identity. Robert's elder brother arrives in New York to find out what has happened to his sibling. The bank that holds Robert's money reopens, and Robert proposes marriage to Hilda whilst serving dinner. She accepts his proposal. [2]

Cast

Production

Come Out of the Pantry was the first British film to star Fay Wray, three years after her appearance in King Kong (1933). She reportedly commented that she felt a certain resentment from the British cast and crew against the presence of an American star. Wray went on to make three more films in Britain, including When Knights Were Bold (1936), also with Jack Buchanan. [3]

Critical reception

Come Out of the Pantry is one of many comedy films that feature aristocratic protagonists who pose as servants, and comparisons have been drawn with the films In the Soup (1936), Ball at Savoy (1936) and Mr Cinders (1934), a retelling of the classic fairy tale Cinderella . [2] The theme of the "aristocrat in disguise" as a member of the lower classes, and the scenario of romance between members of different social classes became popular tropes in fiction of the interwar period, and Come Out of the Pantry has also been compared to Jack Buchanan's other films in this genre such as A Man of Mayfair and Goodnight, Vienna (both 1932). [4]

Writing for The Spectator in 1935, Graham Greene was critical of the film's portrayal of British social class, and criticised the film as a typical example of the "snobby" and classist English film whose subtle social humour "would be quite meaningless to any but an English audience". [5]

TV Guide called it an "entertaining musical." [6]

Songs

The film includes the following songs: [7] [3]

A version of "Everything Stops for Tea" was later recorded by blues singer John Baldry on his 1972 album Everything Stops for Tea , produced by Elton John and Rod Stewart. [8] The song was later rewritten (except for the chorus) by chap hop artist Professor Elemental in his 2012 album, Father of Invention. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fay Wray</span> American actress (1907–2004)

Vina Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed one of the early "scream queens".

<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.

Al Hoffman was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today. He was posthumously made a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. The popularity of Hoffman's song, "Mairzy Doats", co-written with Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake, was such that newspapers and magazines wrote about the craze. Time magazine titled one article "Our Mairzy Dotage". The New York Times simply wrote the headline, "That Song".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Riskin</span> American screenwriter (1897-1955)

Robert Riskin was an American screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Frank Capra.

<i>Everything Stops for Tea</i> 1972 studio album by John Baldry

Everything Stops for Tea is an album by John Baldry released in May 1972. It was produced by Elton John and Rod Stewart. Elton provides vocal accompaniment on tracks 1, 3-5. Stewart provides vocal accompaniment and plays banjo on track 8.

<i>Movie Maniacs</i> 1936 American short film by Del Lord

Movie Maniacs is a 1936 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 13th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Monk Saunders</span> American novelist, screenwriter, film director, Oscar winner

John Monk Saunders was an American novelist, screenwriter, and film director.

<i>Brewsters Millions</i> (1935 film) 1935 British film by Thornton Freeland

Brewster's Millions is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Buchanan, Lili Damita and Nancy O'Neil. It is based on the 1902 novel and subsequent 1906 play, with the action relocated from the United States to Britain.

Maurice Sigler was an American banjoist and songwriter.

<i>When Knights Were Bold</i> (1936 film) 1936 British film

When Knights Were Bold is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Jack Buchanan, Fay Wray and Garry Marsh. Songs include "Let's Put the People To Work" sung by Jack Buchanan, "Onward We Go" sung by Buchanan & soldiers' chorus, and "I'm Still Dreaming" sung by Buchanan.

<i>Car of Dreams</i> 1935 film by Austin Melford, Graham Cutts

Car of Dreams is a 1935 British romantic comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and Austin Melford and starring Grete Mosheim, John Mills, Norah Howard and Robertson Hare. A tycoon's son falls in love with a woman who works at his father's factory. It was based on the 1934 Hungarian film The Dream Car.

Al Goodhart a member of ASCAP, was born in New York City and attended DeWitt Clinton High School. During his lifetime he was a vaudeville pianist, radio announcer and writer. He also owned a theatrical agency.

<i>Hold My Hand</i> (film) 1938 British film

Hold My Hand is a 1938 British musical comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Stanley Lupino, Fred Emney and Barbara Blair. It was based on a musical play by Lupino.

<i>Feet of Clay</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by Frank Marshall

Feet of Clay is a 1960 British crime film directed by Frank Marshall and starring Vincent Ball, Wendy Williams and Hilda Fenemore. It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by The Danzigers.

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1934.

<i>A Son Comes Home</i> 1936 film by Ewald André Dupont

A Son Comes Home is a 1936 American drama film directed by E.A. Dupont and starring Mary Boland, Julie Haydon and Donald Woods. It was one of three films made by Dupont for Paramount Pictures.

This is a summary of 1935 in music in the United Kingdom.

Navy Secrets is a 1939 American espionage film. Directed by Howard Bretherton, the film stars Fay Wray, Grant Withers, and Dewey Robinson. It was released on February 8, 1939. The screenplay by Harvey Gates was based on the short story "Shore Leave" by Steve Fisher, which was originally published in the August 1938 edition of Hearst's International Cosmopolitan.

<i>Thisll Make You Whistle</i> (musical) 1935 stage musical

This'll Make You Whistle is a British musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson and music and lyrics by Maurice Sigler, Al Goodhart and Al Hoffman. It premiered at the Kings Theatre, Southsea before beginning a 190 performance run in the West End lasting from 15 September 1936 until 27 February 1937, originally at the Palace Theatre before transferring to Daly's Theatre.

<i>Their Last Time Out</i> 1967 live album by Dave Brubeck, released 2011

Their Last Time Out: The Unreleased Live Concert, December 26, 1967 is a 1967 live album by Dave Brubeck and his quartet, recorded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 26, 1967. It was first released in 2011 by Columbia Records in a double CD format.

References

  1. ↑ "Come out of the Pantry (1936)". bfi.org.uk. BFI. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  2. 1 2 Shafer, Stephen (2003). British Popular Films 1929-1939: The Cinema of Reassurance. Routledge. p. 92. ISBN   9781134988372 . Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  3. 1 2 Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2005). The Films of Fay Wray. McFarland. p. 142. ISBN   9780786438754 . Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  4. ↑ Conrich, Ian (2006). Film's Musical Moments. Edinburgh University Press. p. 77. ISBN   9780748627271 . Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  5. ↑ Greene, Graham (6 December 1935). "La Bandéra/Come Out of the Pantry". The Spectator . (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. p.  39. ISBN   0192812866.)
  6. ↑ "Come Out Of The Pantry". TVGuide.com.
  7. ↑ "COME OUT OF THE PANTRY". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Myers, Paul (2007). It Ain't Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues. Greystone Books Ltd. p. 255. ISBN   9781553652007 . Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  9. ↑ "Professor Elemental - Father Of Invention". www.professorelemental.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.