Lord Babs

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Lord Babs
Lord Babs 1932 film.jpg
Directed by Walter Forde
Written by Clifford Grey
Angus MacPhail
Sidney Gilliat
Robert Stevenson
Based on Lord Babs by Keble Howard
Produced by Michael Balcon
Starring Bobby Howes
Jean Colin
Pat Paterson
Alfred Drayton
Cinematography Leslie Rowson
Edited by Ian Dalrymple
Music by Louis Levy
Production
company
Distributed byIdeal Pictures
Release date
  • February 1932 (1932-02)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Lord Babs is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Bobby Howes, Jean Colin and Pat Paterson. [1] [2] It was written by Clifford Grey, Angus MacPhail, Sidney Gilliat and Robert Stevenson, based on the 1925 play of the same title by Keble Howard. [3]

Contents

Preservation status

In 1992 the British Film Institute classified Lord Babs as a lost film, [4] but it has since been found and is now held at the BFI National Archive. [1]

Plot

Basil is a steward on an ocean liner and unexpectedly inherits a title and a fortune. Depite already being engaged to Clare Foster, a nurse, he becomes engaged to Helen, the daughter of pork-pie magnate Ambrose Parker, to whom he owes money. To escape the situation, Basil pretends to be mentally disturbed, dressing and acting as a baby.

Cast

Reception

Film Weekly wrote: "As a whole, it is ingeniously produced, luxuriously mounted, and brightly played. If it misfires in places, neither the director, Walter Forde, nor the hard-working cast, can be blamed. The fault lies in the material, not in the treatment." [5]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Elaborately staged farcical comedy with a strong cast, as adapted from the stage play by Keble Howard. It is rather uneven in quality but, after a slow start, works up to a hilarious and boisterous climax. Although Bobby Howes and Jean Colin make the most of the material at their command, it is Alfred Drayton who holds the picture together, and is responsible for most of the entertainment. Music which forms an integral part of the treatment helps to create a good atmosphere. Good comedy entertainment for the masses." [6]

The Daily Film Renter wrote: "Vigorous, well-produced farce, based on Keble Howard's musical extravaganza. Bright and brisk, the film adds to Gainsborough and British prestige, challenging technical comparison with belauded foreign films in the same genre. Musical items elaborate and ingenious; clever photography; excellent work of Bobby Howes one of the highlights. Amount of humour involved in dressing a man in children's clothes and treating him as a two-year-old is necessarily limited, but every ounce of humour is enthusiastically exploited by capable star cast. Popular audiences will roar continuously." [7]

Picturegoer wrote: "Treatment is much too slow for this type of conventional farce and, while the interpolated music is tuneful, it is not too well put over." [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Lord Babs". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Lord Babs (1932)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Who Was Who 1916-28. Bloomsbury. 2014. ISBN   9781408193365.
  4. ↑ Eyles, Allen; Meeker, David, eds. (1992). "Lord Babs". Missing Believed Lost: The Great British Film Search. British Film Institute. p. 42. ISBN   0851703062.
  5. ↑ "Lord Babs". Film Weekly . 7 (175): 25-26. 20 February 1932. ProQuest   1705177941.
  6. ↑ "Lord Babs". Kine Weekly . 180 (1296): 33. 18 February 1932. ProQuest   2320688935.
  7. ↑ "Lord Babs". The Daily Film Renter (1564): 4. 17 February 1932. ProQuest   3127048700.
  8. ↑ "Lord Babs". Picturegoer . 2: 20. 7 September 1932. ProQuest   1771171695.
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