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The Loves of Robert Burns | |
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Directed by | Herbert Wilcox |
Written by |
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Based on | a story by Reginald Berkeley & Herbert Wilcox |
Produced by | Herbert Wilcox |
Starring | |
Cinematography |
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Edited by | Duncan Mansfield |
Music by | Leslie Heward (music arranger / musical director) |
Production company | |
Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | England |
Language | English |
The Loves of Robert Burns is a 1930 British historical musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Joseph Hislop, Dorothy Seacombe and Eve Gray. [1] It depicts the life of the Scottish poet Robert Burns.
The film was the first joint production between Herbert Wilcox Productions, and His Master's Voice gramophone company. The aim of this was to give Wilcox access to their celebrity recording stars such as Chaliapin, John McCormick, Galli-Curci, Yehudi Menuhin and others. For the lead he cast the Scottish tenor Joseph Hislop. [2] [3]
Wilcox later wrote it was "a good film, I thought, but not commercially successful" which led to the gramophone company ending the relationship with Wilcox. "Had I chosen a less indigenous subject and a greater name star, the story might have been vastly different," wrote Wlcox. [4]
The New York Times wrote, "another film which was manufactured with a particular eye to American consumption has on its showing here fallen far short of standards set by British critics...It was thought that the story of the Scottish poet whose fame has been spread throughout the world by his fervently admiring countrymen would command a certain amount of universal appeal. An undoubted opportunity has been missed in that respect. Joseph Hislop, a well-known and popular tenor, was selected for the rôle of the poet, and he does his part, so far as the rendering of a series of Burns's famous songs is concerned, as well as could be desired. On the other hand, the photographic work is much below the standard and the character of Bobbie is divested of most of those qualities which endeared him to his readers as a man as his verse commended him to them as a poet. "The Loves of Robert Burns," indeed, was so unsatisfactory to the London public that it was withdrawn at the end of one week's trial at a central cinema, although it had been largely advertised in advance. Herbert Wilcox was the producer and apparently he fell between two stools—that of finding a singer who could do justice to Bobbie Burns's "Comin' Through the Rye" and other equally famous ballads, and an actor who could present an adequate picture of Robbie the man"; [5] and more recently, TV Guide called it a "poorly produced life of the famed writer that is short on fact and long on fancy. Hislop, a noted operatic tenor, is about the best thing the film has going. He gives a fairly good performance and handles the songs well. However the script is a joke. Though the title implies that several affairs will be dealt with, in reality there are only two. Gray and Seacombe are Hislop's two lovers, both historically inaccurate. The film shows Seacombe being seduced and being made into "an honest woman" by Burns, when in reality they married and had several children. This story gives them no family at all. The Scottish settings are used nicely, but the actors keep forgetting what country they are in and their accents change from scene to scene. Better to buy an anthology of Burns' work than to deal with the mess here." [6]
Dorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (1930), "Don't Blame Me" (1948), "Pick Yourself Up" (1936), "I'm in the Mood for Love" (1935), "You Couldn't Be Cuter" (1938) and "Big Spender" (1966). Throughout her career, she collaborated with various influential figures in the American musical theater, including Jerome Kern, Cy Coleman, Irving Berlin, and Jimmy McHugh. Along with Ann Ronell, Dana Suesse, Bernice Petkere, and Kay Swift, she was one of the first successful Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood female songwriters.
Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE was a British film producer and director.
Robert Burns, also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest.
Nell Gwyn is a 1934 British historical drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke, Jeanne de Casalis, Miles Malleson and Moore Marriott. The film portrays the historical romance between Charles II of England and the actress Nell Gwyn. In the opening credits, the dialogue is credited to "King Charles II, Samuel Pepys and Nell Gwyn" with additional dialogue by Miles Malleson. It was also released as Mistress Nell Gwyn.
The Blue Danube is a 1932 British romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Brigitte Helm, Joseph Schildkraut and Desmond Jeans. Its plot, based on a short story by Doris Zinkeisen, concerns a Hungarian gypsy who leaves his girlfriend for a countess, but soon begins to suffer heartache. The Blue Danube was made in both English and German-language versions.
Bitter Sweet is a British musical romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and released by United Artists in 1933. It was the first film adaptation of Noël Coward's 1929 operetta Bitter Sweet. It starred Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravey, with Ivy St. Helier reviving her stage role as Manon. It was made at British and Dominion's Elstree Studios and was part of a boom in operetta films during the 1930s.
This'll Make You Whistle is a 1936 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Elsie Randolph and William Kendall. The film was based on the stage musical of the same title which Buchanan had starred in.
Laughing Anne is a 1953 British adventure film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Wendell Corey, Margaret Lockwood, Forrest Tucker, and Ronald Shiner. It was adapted from Joseph Conrad's short story, "Because of the Dollars" and from his 1923 two-act play, Laughing Anne. The film was shot at Shepperton Studios outside London. The film's sets were designed by the art director William C. Andrews and costumes were by Elizabeth Haffenden.
Madame Pompadour is a 1927 British silent historical drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Dorothy Gish, Antonio Moreno and Nelson Keys. The film depicts the life of Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV of France. It was the first film to be shot at the newly christened Elstree Studios.
Peg of Old Drury is a 1935 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke and Margaretta Scott. The film is a biopic of 18th century Irish actress Peg Woffington. It was based on the play Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor. It contains passages of 18th century Shakespearian performance, from The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and As You Like It.
Wonderful Things! is a 1958 British comedy romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Frankie Vaughan, Jocelyn Lane and Wilfrid Hyde-White. It was written by Jack Trevor Story. Two fishermen brothers clash over the love of a woman.
Nell Gwyn is a 1926 British silent romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Dorothy Gish, Randle Ayrton and Juliette Compton. It was based on the 1926 novel Mistress Nell Gwyn by Marjorie Bowen and follows the life of Nell Gwynne, the mistress of Charles II. Wilcox later made a second version of the film in 1934, Nell Gwynn which starred Anna Neagle.
The Yellow Mask is a 1930 British musical crime film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Lupino Lane, Dorothy Seacombe and Warwick Ward. A criminal plans to rob the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. It was based on the 1927 Edgar Wallace novel The Traitor's Gate., adapted into the play The Yellow Mask, which premiered in London in 1928.
Dorothy Seacombe was a British film actress.
Janet, Jennie or Jenny Clow was a domestic servant to Mrs Agnes Maclehose, née Craig (1759-1841), the Clarinda to Robert Burns' Sylvander. She was the daughter of Andrew Clow and Margaret Inglis from Fife and was the youngest of eight children. Her mistress sent her to deliver a letter to the poet and he seduced her.
Helen Anne Park, known as Anna Park or Ann Park, was born in 1769 at Moffat, Scotland. She was thought to have been the daughter of Joseph Park, an Edinburgh coachmaker, and Jean Dick. However, recent research has shown that she was actually the daughter of Walter Park and Elizabeth Blacklock. Margaret Ewing née Park, a onetime landlady of 'The Globe', was her sister and she worked there as a barmaid. Anna bore the poet Robert Burns an illegitimate child named Elizabeth 'Betty' Burns as a result of an adulterous affair.
Agnes Maclehose, or Agnes Craig, known to her friends as Nancy and to Robert Burns followers as Clarinda, was a Scotswoman who had an unconsummated affair with Burns during 1787-88, on which he based the 1791 song "Ae Fond Kiss". The pseudonyms of her "Clarinda" to his "Sylvander" were adopted by the pair for confidential correspondence purposes. Maclehose, used here throughout, has been various styled, including "McLehose", "MacLehose" and "M'Lehose".
Rookery Nook is a 1930 film farce, directed by Tom Walls, with a script by Ben Travers. It is a screen adaptation of the original 1926 Aldwych farce of the same title. The film was known in the U.S. as One Embarrassing Night.
Love in the Rough is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Charles Reisner and written by Sarah Y. Mason, Joseph Farnham and Robert E. Hopkins. The film stars Robert Montgomery, Dorothy Jordan, Benny Rubin, J. C. Nugent, Penny Singleton and Tyrell Davis.
John Richmond (1765–1846) was one of Robert Burns's closest friends and confidants. He was born in Sorn parish at Montgarswood, Ayrshire, Scotland. His father, Henry Richmond, was a merchant in Mauchline and owned Montgarswood Farm that lies near Sorn. This farm passed to James, John's brother, having once been farmed by William Fisher, Burns's Holy Willie.