We'll Smile Again

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We'll Smile Again
We'll Smile Again (1942 film).jpg
Spanish poster
Directed by John Baxter
Written by
Produced byJohn Baxter
Starring
Cinematography James Wilson
Edited by Ralph Kemplen
Music by Kennedy Russell
Production
company
Distributed byAnglo-American Film Corporation
Release date
  • 7 December 1942 (1942-12-07)(UK)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

We'll Smile Again is a 1942 British musical comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Meinhart Maur. [1] [2] [3] It was written by Barbara K. Emary, Flanagan and Austin Melford.

Contents

The movie was successful at the box office and encouraged British National to make more comedies. [4]

Premise

A ring of Nazi spies infiltrate a film studio planning to use it for sending coded messages, but they are foiled by two of the low-level staff at the studio.

Cast

Production

It was known as Glamourflage and filming started 4 May 1942. [5] The film's sets were designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold.

It was also known as Three's a Crowd. [6]

Reception

Box office

According to Kinematograph Weekly the film "did not disappoint" at the British box office in December 1942. [7]

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "An excellent vehicle for Flanagan and Allen, who play Bob and Maxwell respectively The slapstick comedy is well contrived and the situations are not too utterly impossible. The production includes some good extravaganza scenes in the film studios and the title is well devised. John Baxter's direction is admirable in a type of film with which he is not usually concerned." [8]

Picturegoer wrote: Flanagan and Allen at the top of their form in a film studio spy "extravaganza, which is full of bright gags – some of them old, but none the less funny for that. ... The whole thing is ably and slickly directed by John Baxter who, even amidst his fooling does not forget the occasional human touch which is the necessary condiment for farce. [9]

The Radio Times gave the film three out of five stars, and wrote "Unlike many stage, radio or television double acts who flounder when put on the big screen, Flanagan and Allen fared rather well as movie stars, and this is a typical effort, combining bright comedy with songs and human interest ... Directed with no pretension by John Baxter, who made several of the duo's other popular films, it is an engaging showcase for one of Britain's best-loved song-and-comedy teams." [10]

References

  1. ↑ "We'll Smile Again". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  2. ↑ "BFI | Film & TV Database | WE'LL SMILE AGAIN (1942)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  3. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (14 September 2025). "Forgotten British Film Moguls: Lady Yule". Filmink. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "British National stick to policy of laughter". Kinematograph Weekly. 14 January 1943. p. 113.
  5. ↑ "Three War Films Set to Star Prod". Variety. 13 May 1942. p. 13. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "In British studios". 23 May 1942. p. 38.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  7. ↑ Billings, Josh (14 January 1943). "Box office stakes results". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 47.
  8. ↑ "We'll Smile Again". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 9 (97): 126. 1 January 1942. ProQuest   1305816243.
  9. ↑ "We'll Smile Again". Picturegoer (568): 15. 28 November 1942 – via Proquest.
  10. ↑ "We'll Smile Again – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times.
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