The Maid of the Mountains | |
---|---|
Directed by | Lupino Lane |
Written by | Scenario: Victor Kendall Frank Miller Edwin Greenwood Screen adaptation: Douglas Furber Lupino Lane |
Based on | musical play by Frederick Lonsdale |
Produced by | John Maxwell |
Starring | Harry Welchman Nancy Brown Betty Stockfeld |
Cinematography | Claude Friese-Greene Arthur Crabtree |
Edited by | Leslie Norman |
Music by | Harold Fraser-Simson Lyricist: Harry Graham Musical direction: Idris Lewis |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Wardour Films (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Maid of the Mountains is a 1932 film based on the long-running stage musical The Maid of the Mountains . [1] It was directed by Lupino Lane. [2]
Perth's The West Australian wrote in November 1932, "the most important production for some time from the British International studios at Elstree, was screened to the trade in London on September 17 last and was enthusiastically received by exhibitors and the trade Press. 'The Maid of the Mountains' is, of course, the screen version of one of the most popular musical comedies the stage has known. It was directed by Lupino Lane and photographed by Claude Finese Greene, one of England's leading cameramen. Two Australian girls, Nancy Brown and Betty Stockfield, play important roles of Teresa and Angela, and Miss Brown's singing of the popular melodies is said to be most effective...The 'Daily Film Renter' says that 'The Maid of the Mountains' is a feast of melody and humour, wholesome and entertaining throughout its length. The 'Cinema' says it has sparkling comedy, charming romance, striking spectacle and lilting music effectively put over, the camera work and recording being first class. There will be large audiences for this film when it is shown in Perth next year"; [3] whereas more recently, TV Guide concluded that "The production, unfortunately, is flat and lifeless, without any of the jauntiness needed for it to work." [4]
The Maid of the Mountains, called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham and additional lyrics by Frank Clifford Harris and Valentine, and the book was written by Frederick Lonsdale, best known for his later society comedies such as On Approval. After an initial try-out at the Prince's Theatre in Manchester on 23 December 1916, the show was rewritten and opened at Daly's Theatre in London on 10 February 1917.
Frederick Lonsdale was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century, including King of Cadonia (1908), The Balkan Princess (1910), Betty (1915), The Maid of the Mountains (1917), Monsieur Beaucaire (1919) and Madame Pompadour (1923). He also wrote comedy plays, including The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1925) and On Approval (1927) and the murder melodrama But for the Grace of God (1946). Some of his plays and musicals were made into films, and he also wrote a few screenplays.
Shani Wallis is an English actress and singer, who has worked in theatre, film, and television in both her native United Kingdom and in the United States. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she is known for her roles in the West End and for the role of Nancy in the 1968 Oscar-winning film musical Oliver!
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno and Cyd Charisse in supporting roles. It offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to "talkies".
Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle Hammons (1882–1962). Educational primarily distributed short subjects; it is best known for its series of comedies starring Buster Keaton and the earliest screen appearances of Shirley Temple (1932–34). The company ceased production in 1938, and finally closed in 1940 when its film library was sold at auction.
Henry William George Lupino professionally Lupino Lane, was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family, which eventually included his niece, the screenwriter/director/actress Ida Lupino. Lane started out as a child performer, known as 'Little Nipper', and went on to appear in a wide range of theatrical, music hall and film performances. Increasingly celebrated for his silent comedy short subjects, he is best known in the United Kingdom for playing Bill Snibson in the play and film Me and My Girl, which popularized the song and dance routine "The Lambeth Walk".
The Show of Shows is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost almost $800,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor.
Artists and Models is a 1937 black-and-white American musical comedy film, directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Jack Benny and Ida Lupino. It was produced by Lewis E. Gensler.
Palmy Days is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film written by Eddie Cantor, Morrie Ryskind, and David Freedman, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Eddie Cantor. The famed Goldwyn Girls make appearances during elaborate production numbers set in a gymnasium and a bakery. Betty Grable, Paulette Goddard, Virginia Grey, and Toby Wing are among the bevy of chorines. George Raft had an early role.
Madam Satan or Madame Satan is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film in black and white with Multicolor sequences. It was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starred Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Lillian Roth, and Roland Young.
Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE was a British film producer and director.
Let's Face It! is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields is based on the 1925 play The Cradle Snatchers by Russell Medcraft and Norma Mitchell.
The Broken Melody is a 1938 Australian drama film directed by Ken G. Hall and starring Lloyd Hughes, based on a best-selling novel by F. J. Thwaites. Hall later said in 1974 that "This was a film that I’m particularly keen about still."
She Loves Me Not is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Bing Crosby and Miriam Hopkins. Based on the novel She Loves Me Not by Edward Hope and the subsequent play by Howard Lindsay, the film is about a cabaret dancer who witnesses a murder and is forced to hide from gangsters by disguising herself as a male Princeton student. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film has been remade twice as True to the Army (1942) and as How to Be Very, Very Popular in (1955), the latter starring Betty Grable.
His Royal Highness is a 1932 Australian musical film directed by F. W. Thring, also known as His Loyal Highness, starring George Wallace in his feature film debut. It was the first Australian film musical.
Julie Aileen Kelly, known professionally as Judy Kelly, was an Australian-born British actress. She arrived in Britain in 1932 after winning a competition organised by the Australian British Empire Films, which included 3 months tuition at the British International Studios at Elstree. She appeared in a number of films for British International Pictures during the 1930s. She was sometimes cast as a love interest for the comedian Leslie Fuller, and also appeared alongside the musical stars Gene Gerrard and Stanley Lupino.
A Southern Maid is a 1933 British musical film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Bebe Daniels, Clifford Mollison and Hal Gordon. It is based on the operetta A Southern Maid by Harold Fraser-Simson. A young Spanish woman marries a lowly Englishman, rather than the aristocrat her father had intended, much to his displeasure. It was part of the cycle of operetta films popular in Britain in the mid-1930s.
Facing the Music is a 1933 British musical comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Stanley Lupino, Jose Collins and Nancy Burne. It is also known by the alternative title Jewel Song.
Old Spanish Customers is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Lupino Lane and starring Leslie Fuller, Binnie Barnes and Drusilla Wills. It was also known as Toreadors Don't Care. Val Guest has a small role; he later called the film "a terrible thing".
The Innocents of Chicago is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Lupino Lane and starring Henry Kendall, Binnie Barnes and Margot Grahame.