Looking on The Bright Side | |
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Directed by | Graham Cutts Basil Dean |
Written by | Basil Dean Brock Williams Archie Pitt |
Produced by | Basil Dean |
Starring | Gracie Fields Richard Dolman Betty Shale |
Cinematography | Robert Martin |
Edited by | Otto Ludwig |
Music by | Carroll Gibbons |
Production company | |
Distributed by | RKO Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 81 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Looking on The Bright Side is a 1932 British musical comedy film It was directed by Graham Cutts and Basil Dean and starring Gracie Fields, Richard Dolman, and Betty Shale.
Gracie (Fields) and Laurie (Dolman) are lovers who together form a musical act. Gracie sings and Laurie writes the songs, but when Laurie gets a taste of fame, he runs off after a glamorous actress.
The film was released on DVD as part of the Gracie Fields collector's edition which, in addition to this film, includes the films Sally in Our Alley (1931), Love, Life and Laughter (1934), Sing As We Go (1934), Look Up and Laugh (1935), Queen of Hearts (1936) and The Show Goes On (1937), these are on 4 discs. Two films each on three of the discs with the other film on disc four.
James Hugh Calum Laurie is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician, best known for starring on the medical drama series House (2004–2012). He received two Golden Globe Awards and many other accolades for portraying Dr. Gregory House on the Fox television show. He was listed in the 2011 Guinness World Records as the most watched leading man on television and was one of the highest-paid actors in a television drama, earning £250,000 ($409,000) per episode of House. His other television credits include arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper in the miniseries The Night Manager (2016), for which he won his third Golden Globe Award, and Senator Tom James in the HBO sitcom Veep (2012–2019), for which he received his 10th Emmy Award nomination.
The following is an overview of 1934 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Dame Gracie Fields was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and the highest paid film star in the world in 1937. She was known affectionately as Our Gracie and the Lancashire Lass and for never losing her strong, native Lancashire accent. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and an Officer of the Venerable Order of St John (OStJ) in 1938, and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1979.
Sing As We Go is a 1934 British musical film starring Gracie Fields, John Loder and Stanley Holloway. The script was written by Gordon Wellesley and J. B. Priestley.
Elizabeth Mary Driver, was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams in the long-running ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, a role she played for 42 years from 1969 to 2011, appearing in 2732 episodes. She had previously appeared as Mrs Edgley in Coronation Street spin-off Pardon the Expression (1965–1966) opposite Arthur Lowe. In her early career she was a singer, appearing in musical films such as Boots! Boots! (1934), opposite George Formby, and in Penny Paradise (1938), directed by Carol Reed. She was made an MBE in the 2000 New Year Honours.
Montague (Monty) Banks, born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the United Kingdom and the United States. He was billed as the Thrill King of Comedy.
Dorothy Hyson, Lady Quayle was an American-born film and stage actress who worked largely in England. During World War II, she worked as a cryptographer at Bletchley Park.
A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Joan Fontaine. Loosely based upon the P.G. Wodehouse 1919 novel of the same name, and the 1928 stage play written by Wodehouse and Ian Hay, it has music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, and was directed by George Stevens, the second Astaire musical directed by Stevens; the first was Swing Time.
White Christmas is a 1954 American musical film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. Filmed in Technicolor, it features the songs of Irving Berlin, including a new version of the title song, "White Christmas", introduced by Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.
Honolulu is a 1939 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring dancer Eleanor Powell, Robert Young, George Burns and Gracie Allen. The picture was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Also appearing in the film are Rita Johnson, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Sig Rumann and Ruth Hussey.
Jamboree, known as Disc Jockey Jamboree in the United Kingdom, is a 1957 American rock and roll film directed by Roy Lockwood. Its story is about a boy and girl, Pete Porter and Honey Wynn, who become overnight sensations as a romantic singing duo who run into trouble when their squabbling managers, try to turn them into solo acts. Against this backdrop in cameo performances appear some of the biggest names of rock and roll in the 1950s lip-syncing to their recordings.
Sally in Our Alley is a 1931 British romantic comedy drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Gracie Fields, Ian Hunter, and Florence Desmond. It is based on the 1923 West End play The Likes of Her by Charles McEvoy.
Look Up and Laugh is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Basil Dean and starring Gracie Fields, Alfred Drayton and Douglas Wakefield. The film is notable for featuring an appearance by Vivien Leigh in an early supporting role.
Queen of Hearts is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gracie Fields, John Loder and Enid Stamp-Taylor.
Keep Smiling is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gracie Fields, Roger Livesey and Mary Maguire. The film follows a group of performers who club together to buy a bus and travel around the country doing shows after they are cheated out of money by an ex-manager.
Love on the Spot is a 1932 British musical film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Rosemary Ames, Richard Dolman and Aubrey Mather.
The Water Gipsies is a 1932 British, low-budget "quota quickie" drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Ann Todd, Sari Maritza and Ian Hunter. It is an adaptation of the 1930 novel The Water Gipsies by A.P. Herbert. The film was made at Beaconsfield Studios. Vivian Ellis worked as the film's composer, and later used some of the music in the 1955 stage musical adaptation of the novel.
Love, Life and Laughter is a 1934 British comedy drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Gracie Fields, John Loder and Ivor Barnard.
Richard Dolman was a British stage and film actor. He worked frequently in musical theatre, appearing in Noël Coward's revue On with the Dance in 1925, and alongside Jessie Matthews in the 1927 revue One Dam Thing After Another. He also featured in Oscar Hammerstein's 1934 musical Three Sisters. Dolman appeared in nine films, often playing romantic leads in releases such as the Ealing Studios comedy Looking on the Bright Side.
Lucky Loser is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Richard Dolman, Aileen Marson and Anna Lee. It was made as a quota quickie at British and Dominion's Elstree Studios for release by the British subsidiary of Paramount Pictures.