The Public Life of Henry the Ninth

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The Public Life of Henry the Ninth
The Public Life of Henry the Ninth.jpg
Directed by Bernard Mainwaring
Written byC. G. H. "Bert" Ayres (uncredited) [1]
Produced byHenry Fraser Passmore
Starring Leonard Henry
Betty Frankiss
George Mozart
Production
company
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [1]
Release date
  • June 1935 (1935-06)
[2]
Running time
60 minutes [3]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Public Life of Henry the Ninth is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Bernard Mainwaring and starring Leonard Henry, Betty Frankiss, and George Mozart. This film was the first film made by Hammer Productions, and was Henry's film debut. It is set largely in the bar of the Henry VIII public house, with the title alluding to the 1933 Oscar-winning film The Private Life of Henry VIII .

Contents

Originally released in 1935 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was released again in 1940, this time by Exclusive. [1]

It is on the BFI 75 Most Wanted list of lost films. [1]

Plot

An unemployed street entertainer named Henry (Leonard Henry) becomes a singing sensation when he is allowed to perform at a pub called the "Henry VIII". Henry partners with the barmaid Maggie (Betty Frankiss) to form a duo, and he adopts the stage name "Henry the Ninth". He later brings a bunch of friends from his old vaudeville days into the act, and business at the bar starts to boom. The owner of the pub refuses to credit his sudden business success to Henry however, which leads Henry to storm off for the London stage, taking his troupe with him.

Cast

Critical reception

The trade show was held on January 30, 1935, and the film went into general release in June, 1935. The Kinematograph Weekly reviewed the film in its June 15, 1935 issue, saying "Pleasant artless comedy, no serious pretensions, but does fill an hour quite pleasantly. Lighting and photography are up to standard." [4]

The Monthly Film Bulletin called Leonard Henry "a likeable character in his first film," and assessed the movie as "good light entertainment without being riotously funny." [1]

The film is today considered a lost film. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Public Life of Henry the Ninth / BFI Most Wanted". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010.
  2. ↑ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 21. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  3. ↑ A clipping shown in the BFI 75 Most Wanted entry indicates a running time of 61 minutes.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 21. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 21. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.


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