Plot summary
The film is about a member of The Montague Nelson West End Repertory Company who poses as a duchess. The company are the guests of the Duke's butler, while the Duke is on holiday. An American businessman, Jesse Martin, and his daughter, Sally Martin, arrive and want a tour of the castle. They mistake one of the actors for the Duke, so naturally, somebody must pose as the duchess.
The ruse suddenly ends when Irvng's wig falls off and he is exposed. However, Mr. Martin is so impressed with his acting skills, he invites the repertory company to Hollywood, to be introduced to an agent he knows.
Release
In July 1933, the Kinematograph Weekly reported the film was to be screened on 22 August 1933, at a trade show at the Hippodrome in London. [10] In December 1933, according to the Kinematograph Weekly, the film premiered at a "suburban kinema" on 10 December 1933, and further stated "it is no exaggeration to say that the usual crowded Sunday night audience simply laughed themselves hoarse at the remarkable performance of the star." [11] The film was then screened on 4 January 1934 at the Phoenix Theatre in London. [12] It was released under the title Oh, What a Duchess!.
The film was released on DVD in 2015 under the original title Oh, What a Duchess!, along with the 1935 British comedy drama film It's a Bet , directed by Alexander Esway. The double bill DVD was titled "British Comedies Of The 1930s Volume 2". [13]
Reception
The Picturegoer said "the producers of this film have refrained from tagging it with a label, so, after seeing it – if you do see it – you may call it a farce, or a farce with music, or anything you please; it is difficult to appreciate why any responsible company should want to make this type of picture unless it be for the said company's private amusement." [14]
The Norwood News wrote Oh, What a Duchess, directed by Lupino Lane is ample proof that the inimitable comedian is something more than an actor; Lacey who gives an impersonation of the Duchess of Stonehaven will cause roars of laughter." [15] The South Wales Argus said the film is "one long laugh from beginning to end; Lacy is a member of a repertory company, and his great ambition is to become an actor of the first magnitude; however, his attempts on the first rung of the ladder, though uproariously funny, are far from successful, following a series of misunderstandings, he impersonates a duchess, and from here good, honest fun waxes fast and furious." [6]
British film critic David Quinlan said it was a "rather outmoded farcical comedy, an extension of Karno's old music-hall sketch Mumming Birds, designed to show off Lacy's talent for female impersonation." [16] The Dorset Echo commented that "Lacy leads in a riotous comedy, the film might have been modelled on the famous peeress in "Alice in Wonderland"; comic situations abound and picturegoers will hesitate between laughter and tears as the situation develops." [17] The Huddersfield Daily Examiner noted that "Lacy's masquerade as the Duchess of Stonehaven provides high burlesque." [18]
The Era opined that "there is a good deal of slapstick and music hall humour of that obvious and popular kind which Lacy understands so well, Davies as an ingenue looks pretty, sings well, and gives hint of much promise, Macready, who has little to do, makes her part stand out, and Courtney, Wright and Aherne do well in small parts." [19]
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