Two Crowded Hours

Last updated

Two Crowded Hours
Two Crowded Hours.jpg
John Longden (right) and Jerry Verno (centre)
Directed by Michael Powell
Written by Joseph Jefferson Farjeon
Produced by Jerome Jackson
Henry Cohen
Starring John Longden
Jane Welsh
Jerry Verno
Cinematography Geoffrey Faithfull
Edited byArthur Seabourne
Distributed by Fox Film Company (UK)
Twentieth Century-Fox (US)
Release dates
8 July 1931 (London)
28 December 1931 (UK)
Running time
43 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Two Crowded Hours is a 1931 British comedy drama film directed by Michael Powell and starring John Longden, Jane Welsh, and Jerry Verno. It was made as a Quota quickie and is the first film where Powell is credited as the director. No known copies of the film have survived to the present day, and Two Crowded Hours has been declared to be "Missing, Believed Lost" by the British Film Institute. [1]

Contents

Premise

A murderer is on the run from prison and is out to get everyone, especially the girl (Jane Welsh), who put him there. The detective (John Longden) gives chase with the help of a London cabbie (Jerry Verno) who has aspirations of becoming a policeman himself.

Cast

Production

Michael Powell's first feature as director, Two Crowded Hours was produced by Jerry Jackson for the Film Engineering Company and distributed by the British arm of Fox Pictures. With accomplished players John Longden (star of Blackmail ) and Cockney character actor Jerry Verno, shooting was completed in 12 days in April 1931 in and around London's Soho. "It was played for laughs and thrills", Powell said, "and we were paid £1 per foot by Fox. We got £4,000 on delivery so obviously we had to make it for £3,000". [2] Although a few stills survive, there is no known print of Two Crowded Hours in existence.

Status

Two Crowded Hours has been declared to be "Missing, Believed Lost" by the British Film Institute. [3] It is listed as one of their "75 Most Wanted" lost films, along with two later Powell films The Price of a Song (1935) and The Man Behind the Mask (1936). [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Longden</span> English actor (1900–1971)

John Longden was a British film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1926 and 1964, including six films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

<i>The Girl in the Crowd</i> 1935 British film

The Girl in the Crowd is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Michael Powell starring Barry Clifton, Patricia Hilliard, and Googie Withers.

<i>Lord Edgware Dies</i> (film) 1934 British film

Lord Edgware Dies is a 1934 British mystery film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Austin Trevor, Jane Carr, and Richard Cooper. The film was based on the 1933 Agatha Christie novel Lord Edgware Dies.

Hotel Splendide is a 1932 British comedy drama film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a Quota quickie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Verno</span> British actor (1895–1975)

Jerry Verno was a British film actor. He appeared in 39 films between 1931 and 1966, including five films directed by Michael Powell, and two with Alfred Hitchcock.

<i>His Lordship</i> (1932 film) 1932 British film by Michael Powell

His Lordship is a 1932 British musical comedy film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a Quota quickie.

<i>C.O.D.</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

C.O.D. is a 1932 British crime film directed by Michael Powell and starring Garry Marsh, Arthur Stratton and Sybil Grove. A man helps a woman to dispose of the body of her stepfather.

<i>The Brown Wallet</i> 1936 film

The Brown Wallet is a 1936 British crime film, directed by Michael Powell and starring Patric Knowles. The Brown Wallet, adapted from a short story by Stacy Aumonier, was one of over 20 quota quickies directed by Powell between 1931 and 1936. It is among eleven of these films of which no extant print is known to survive, and its current status is "missing, believed lost".

<i>The Price of a Song</i> 1935 film

The Price of a Song is a 1935 British crime film, directed by Michael Powell. It is one of 23 quota quickies Powell directed between 1931 and 1936. It features a largely forgotten cast – only Felix Aylmer, here in a minor role, would go on to a significant film career.

<i>Rynox</i> 1932 film

Rynox is a 1932 British crime film directed by Michael Powell and starring Stewart Rome, John Longden and Dorothy Boyd. Rynox was adapted from a 1930 novel by popular thriller writer of the day Philip MacDonald. It was made at Walton Studios outside London and was a second feature.

Someday is a 1935 British romance film, directed by Michael Powell and starring Esmond Knight and Margaret Lockwood. The screenplay was adapted from a novel by I. A. R. Wylie.

Born Lucky is a 1933 British rags to riches musical-comedy drama, directed by Michael Powell and starring Rene Ray and John Longden. The screenplay was adapted from the 1928 novel Mops by Marguerite Florence Barclay.

The Star Reporter is a 1932 British crime drama, directed by Michael Powell and starring Harold French and Garry Marsh. The screenplay was adapted from a story by popular thriller writer Philip MacDonald.

My Friend the King is a 1932 British comedy film, directed by Michael Powell and starring Jerry Verno. The film was a follow-up to Two Crowded Hours, Powell's unexpectedly popular directorial debut of the previous year, with comedian Verno reprising his role as a chirpy Cockney taxi driver who gets mixed up in shady doings. This film however was less well-received, with Powell recalling it as "a complete failure", also noting that he worked on six films during 1932 and that "they couldn't all be good...and they weren't".

<i>The Chinese Bungalow</i> (1940 film) 1940 film

The Chinese Bungalow, also known as Chinese Den, is a 1940 British drama film directed by George King and starring Kay Walsh, Jane Baxter and Paul Lukas. It was adapted from the 1925 play The Chinese Bungalow by Marion Osmond and James Corbett. King was a former producer of quota quickies who was increasingly working on films with better budgets during the early war years.

Her Imaginary Lover is a 1933 British comedy film directed by George King and starring Laura La Plante and Percy Marmont. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers and shot at the company's Teddington Studios as a quota quickie.

The Gables Mystery is a 1938 British crime film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Francis L. Sullivan, Antoinette Cellier and Leslie Perrins. It is an adaptation of the play The Man at Six by Jack Celestin and Jack DeLeon, previously made into a 1931 film of the same title which was also directed by Hughes. It was shot at Welwyn Studios as a quota quickie for release by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Dial 999 is a 1938 British crime film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring John Longden, Elizabeth Kent and Neville Brook. It was made as a quota quickie by 20th Century Fox at Wembley Studios. The film's title aimed to capitalize on the recent introduction of the emergency telephone number 999.

The Beggar Student is a 1931 British operetta film directed by Victor Hanbury and John Harvel and starring Shirley Dale, Lance Fairfax and Jerry Verno. It was based on the 1882 operetta The Beggar Student composed by Carl Millöcker. A separate German film was made the same year.

A Lucky Sweep is a 1932 British comedy film directed by A. V. Bramble and starring John Longden, Diana Beaumont and A. G. Poulton. It was made at Elstree Studios as a quota quickie.

References

Notes

  1. Missing, Believed Lost
  2. Powell, 1986
  3. Missing, Believed Lost
  4. "Two Crowded Hours". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.

Bibliography

  • Chibnal, Steve. Quota Quickies : The Birth of the British 'B' Film. London: BFI, 2007. ISBN   1-84457-155-6
  • Powell, Michael. A Life in Movies: An Autobiography. London: Heinemann, 1986. ISBN   0-434-59945-X.