The Second Mr. Bush

The Second Mr. Bush
Directed by	John Paddy Carstairs
Written by	Doreen Montgomery Leslie Arliss
Based on	play Stafford Dickens
Produced by	John Corfield
Starring	Wallace Evennett Evelyn Roberts Kay Walsh
Cinematography	James Wilson
Production company	British National Films
Distributed by	Anglo-American Film Corporation
Release date	April 1940 (1940-04)
Running time	56 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Second Mr. Bush is a 1940 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Wallace Evennett, Evelyn Roberts and Kay Walsh. It was made at Welwyn Studios by British National Films. ^{[1] [2]}

Cast

• Wallace Evennett as Mr. Bush
• Evelyn Roberts as Major Dawson
• Kay Walsh as Angela Windel-Todd
• Derrick De Marney as Tony
• Barbara Everest as Mrs. Windel-Tod
• Ruth Maitland as Mrs. Bush
• Kenneth Buckley as David
• A. Bromley Davenport as Colonel Barlow
• Hal Walters as Joe
• W.T. Hodge as David's brother
• Vi Kaley
• Robert Rendel
• Margaret Yarde

Production

It was based on a play by Stafford Dickens which debuted in February 1938. The Daily Telegraph said there wer "one or two very funny moments" but felt "the play as a whole was a trite and ordinary piece of work, badly put together and written without much feeling for character or sense of plausibility." ^[3]

British National originally bought the rights to the story in early 1938 as a vehicle for Richard Goulden who made Meet Mr. Penny for the studio. ^[4] Filming took place in July 1938 at Welwyn Studios under the title If You Had a Million with Wallace Evenett in the lead. ^[5] However the movie was not released until May 1940 under the title The Second Mr Bush.

Release

Variety called it "too flimsy to hold attention." ^[6]

References

1. Wood p.99
2. Vagg, Stephen (14 September 2025). "Forgotten British Film Moguls: Lady Yule". Filmink. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
3. "Far fetched little comedy". The Daily Telegraph. 14 February 1938. p. 10.
4. "Chatter - London". Variety. 23 March 1938. p. 61.
5. "Film fancies". Evening News and Star (Late Final ed.). 12 July 1938. p. 4.
6. "The Second Mr Bush". Variety. 8 May 1940. p. 22.

Bibliography

• Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
• Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927-1939. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

• The Second Mr. Bush at IMDb