When We Are Married (film)

Last updated

When We Are Married
When We are Married (1943 film).jpg
Directed by Lance Comfort
Written by J. B. Priestley
Barbara K. Emary
Produced by John Baxter
Starring Sydney Howard
Raymond Huntley
Olga Lindo
Cinematography James Wilson
Music by Kennedy Russell
Production
company
Release date
  • 12 July 1943 (1943-07-12)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

When We Are Married is a 1943 British comedy-drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Sydney Howard, Raymond Huntley and Olga Lindo. [1]

Contents

Plot

The film is a screen version of the 1938 stage play by J. B. Priestley, in which three Edwardian era Yorkshire couples, who were all married on the same day 25 years earlier, gather to celebrate their joint silver wedding anniversary, only to be told that due to a legal technicality, their marriages were not valid and that for the past quarter-century they have all effectively been living in sin. Some react with horror at potential scandal, while others glimpse the possibility of freedom from a deadbeat spouse, or regret potential loves that got away after they were "married". Much drama ensues as the couples each re-evaluate their respective marriages, but after grievances have been aired and new understandings forged, all ends happily. The Monthly Film Bulletin , known for its exacting standards, complimented the film as "an exceedingly amusing, if somewhat unkind, picture of a Yorkshire chapel-going fraternity...under the skilful direction of Lance Comfort all the cast bring the characters to life". [2]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil Parker</span> English actor (1897–1971)

Cecil Parker was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Huntley</span> English actor (1904–1990)

Horace Raymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs as the pragmatic family solicitor Sir Geoffrey Dillon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Ackland</span> English dramatist (1908–1991)

Rodney Ackland was an English playwright, actor, theatre director and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Howard</span> English actor and comedian (1884–1946)

Sydney Howard was an English stage comedian and film actor born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire.

<i>Father Came Too!</i> 1964 British film by Peter Graham Scott

Father Came Too! is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips and Stanley Baxter. It was written by Jack Davies and Henry Blyth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Comfort</span> English film director (1908–1966)

Lance Comfort was an English film director. In a career spanning over 25 years, he became one of the most prolific film directors in Britain, though he never gained critical attention and remained on the fringes of the film industry, creating mostly B movies.

<i>When We Are Married</i> Play written by J. B. Priestley

When We Are Married is a three-act play by the English dramatist J. B. Priestley, described as "A Yorkshire Farcical Comedy". Written in 1934, it is set about thirty years earlier, and depicts the consequences when three middle-aged couples jointly celebrating their silver weddings are informed that they were not legally married.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Barry</span> English actress (1908–1954)

Phyllis Barry was an English film actress. Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Seth Henry and Bertha Hillyard, Barry appeared in over 40 films between 1925 and 1947.

Once a Crook is a 1941 British crime film directed by Herbert Mason, produced by Edward Black for 20th Century Fox and featuring Gordon Harker, Sydney Howard, Bernard Lee, Kathleen Harrison, and Raymond Huntley. It is an adaptation to the big screen from a stage play by Evadne Price and Ken Attiwell.

<i>The Constant Husband</i> 1955 British film by Sidney Gilliat

The Constant Husband is a 1955 British comedy film, directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall, Cecil Parker, George Cole and Raymond Huntley. The story was written by Gilliat together with Val Valentine, and the film was produced by Individual Pictures, Gilliat's and Frank Launder's joint production company. Because the film got caught up in the 1954 bankruptcy of British Lion Film Corporation, it was not released until more than seven months after it had been finished and reviewed by the British Board of Film Censors.

<i>The Case of Gabriel Perry</i> 1935 British film by Albert de Courville

The Case of Gabriel Perry is a 1935 British crime film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Henry Oscar, Olga Lindo and Margaret Lockwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga Lindo</span> English actress (1899–1968)

Olga Lindo was an English actress. She was the daughter of Frank Lindo, a well-known actor, manager and author. She made her stage debut at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 26 December 1913. She later joined her father's touring company in a range of roles. For Basil Dean she appeared in R.U.R in 1923, and in 1925 she gave what The Times described as a formidable performance as Sadie Thompson in Maugham's Rain at the Garrick Theatre. She toured in South Africa in 1930 and 1934 in a variety of parts. Her repertoire ranged from the classics to farce. In 1935 she played Abigail Hill in Norman Ginsbury's historical work Viceroy Sarah. She also acted in films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Coleridge</span> English actress (1883–1976)

Ethel Coleridge was an English actress, best known for her roles in the original Aldwych farces in the 1920s and 1930s.

<i>Portrait of Clare</i> (film) 1950 British film by Lance Comfort

Portrait of Clare is a 1950 black and white British drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Margaret Johnston, Richard Todd, Robin Bailey and Ronald Howard, and based on the 1927 novel of the same name written by Francis Brett Young.

<i>The Farmers Wife</i> (1941 film) 1941 film by Norman Lee

The Farmer's Wife is a 1941 British comedy drama film directed by Norman Lee and Leslie Arliss and starring Basil Sydney, Wilfrid Lawson and Nora Swinburne. It was written by Arliss, J. E. Hunter and Lee based on the 1916 play The Farmer's Wife by Eden Phillpotts which had previously been adapted by Alfred Hitchcock for a 1928 film of the same name. It was produced by ABPC at Welwyn Studios, at a time when the company's main Elstree Studios had been requisitioned for wartime use. The film is not widely known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Margetson</span> British actor (1887–1951)

Arthur Margetson was a British stage and film actor and radio broadcaster. He was also a composer of music and lyrics, and an impersonator of performers such as G P Huntley, Alfred Lester, and Harry Weldon.

<i>Kiss the Bride Goodbye</i> 1945 British film

Kiss the Bride Goodbye is a 1945 British romantic comedy drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Patricia Medina and Jimmy Hanley.

<i>Glad Tidings</i> (film) 1953 film by Wolf Rilla

Glad Tidings is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Barbara Kelly, Raymond Huntley and Ronald Howard. It was based on the play of the same title by R. F. Delderfield and made at the Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames. The film's art direction was by John Stoll. The backers Eros Films were pleased enough with the film's success to adapt another Delderfield play as Where There's a Will in 1955.

<i>Behold My Wife!</i> (1920 film) 1920 film by George Melford

Behold My Wife! is a lost 1920 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and starring Mabel Julienne Scott and Milton Sills in a filmization of Sir Gilbert Parker's novel, The Translation of a Savage. Famous Players–Lasky produced the film and Paramount Pictures distributed.

<i>The Break</i> (1963 film) 1963 British film by Lance Comfort

The Break is a 1963 British second feature drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Tony Britton, William Lucas and Christina Gregg. It was written by Pip and Jane Baker.

References

  1. "When We Are Married (1943)". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  2. British Film Makers: Lance Comfort, McFarlane, Brian. Manchester University Press, 1999. pp.50-52. ISBN   0-7190-5483-4 (To view at Google Books)