London Entertains

London Entertains
Directed by	E. J. Fancey
Written by	Jimmy Grafton
Produced by	E. J. Fancey
Starring	Eamonn Andrews
Distributed by	Watsofilms
Release date	1951 (1951)
Running time	48 minutes [1]
Country	Great Britain
Language	English

London Entertains is a 1951 British quasi-documentary film that combines a travelogue around London with film of various variety stars including The Goons and Bobby Breen. The film was conceived by Jimmy Grafton and produced and directed by Edwin John Fancey. ^[1]

The film uses the pretext of girls returning from a Swiss finishing school and setting up an agency called At Your Service to show tourists to London around the sites of the 1951 Festival of Britain. ^[2] They are aided by BBC radio presenter Eamonn Andrews who uses his show-business contacts to get the girls in to see variety shows. ^[3]

Entertainment locations visited include the Windmill Theatre and Grafton's, the public house owned by the film's writer Jimmy Grafton, where The Goon Show (then known as Crazy People) was recorded. ^{[2] [3]} The film also includes footage of actress Gloria Swanson touring the construction site of the Royal Festival Hall and the Southbank Centre. ^[4] The actresses playing the girls were members of the Eastbourne Girls Choir. ^[3]

References

1. Gifford, Dennis, ed. (2001). The British Film Catalogue: Volume 2. Routledge. p. 585. ISBN   978-1579581718.
2. Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' film. BFI. p. 119. ISBN   978-1844573196.
3. Lewis, Roger (1995). The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. Arrow. p. 282. ISBN   978-0099747000.
4. The Year's 16mm films. Current Affairs Ltd. 1954. p. 154.