Sidewalks of London (1938)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Tim Whelan

Writers:

Bartlett Cormack (writer)
Clemence Dane (writer)

Release Date:

15 February 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

When VIVIEN LEIGH swings it...and CHARLES LAUGHTON sings it...WOW! (original ad)

Plot:

On the sidewalks of the London theater district the buskers (street performers) earn enough coins for a cheap room...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman

Cast

Charles Laughton	...	Charles Staggers
Vivien Leigh	...	Liberty 'Libby'
Rex Harrison	...	Harley Prentiss
Larry Adler	...	Constantine Dan
Tyrone Guthrie	...	Gentry
Maire O'Neill	...	Mrs. Such
Gus McNaughton	...	Arthur Smith
Polly Ward	...	Frankie
Basil Gill	...	Magistrate
Helen Haye	...	Selina
David Burns	...	Hackett
Phyllis Stanley	...	Della
Edward Lexy	...	Mr. Such
Clare Greet	...	Old Maud
Alf Goddard	...	Doggie

Also Known As:

St. Martin's Lane

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Mayflower Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Made in London just before England's entrance into the Second World War, this film was co-produced by a refugee from Hitler - the great German producer of "Metropolis" and many other classic UFA films - 'Eric Pommer'. It was directed by an American from Hollywood, Tim Whelan, and features another American, the great harmonica virtuoso, 'Larry Adler', who was to return to live in exile in England after the war when he was blacklisted in the U.S. Adler went on write and play the score for the classic English comedy Genevieve (1953). The role of the tall busker Gentry is played by Tyrone Guthrie who would be knighted and would one day become Artistic Director of Canada's Stratford Festival and founder of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. The film is edited by Robert Hamer who would go on to direct the Ealing Studio comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).

Quotes:

Liberty 'Libby': Just a minute! Look here, mister, who does this lovely world belong to, eh? To the people who live on it, you say? Well, I'm one of them. And I've got just the same taste as all the rest. You should be surprised. I get hungry. I get thirsty. I get cold. I enjoy smoke and a permanent wave, and whatever I can get in the way of extras. And why shouldn't I have them?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind (1988) (TV)

There was a time before evil and a time before death...

Vivian Leigh charms and beguiles as does Charles Laughton and Rex Harrison,all of them in their innocence and unaffected excellence. A needful but blithe and hopeful era in London, after the internecine slaughter of World War I and the unimaginable evil of World War II and the Holocaust. To experience these three and others in a blitheful , happy episode of innocent merriment will uplift thee.