Derby Day (1952)

Entertaining ensemble piece dealing with several characters who are on the way to the races on Derby day. It cleverly blends dramatic, romantic and comic elements, including the woman and ... See full summary »

Director:

Herbert Wilcox

Writers:

Arthur Austen (original story), John Baines (screenplay),

Stars:

Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Googie Withers

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Neagle	...	Lady Helen Forbes
Michael Wilding	...	David Scott
Googie Withers	...	Betty Molloy
John McCallum	...	Tommy Dillon
Peter Graves	...	Gerald Berkeley
Suzanne Cloutier	...	Michele Jolivet
Gordon Harker	...	Joe Jenkins
Edwin Styles	...	Sir George Forbes
Gladys Henson	...	Gladys Jenkins
Nigel Stock	...	Jim Molloy
Ralph Reader	...	Bill Hammond
Tom Walls Jr.	...	Gilpin (as Tom Walls)
Josephine Fitzgerald	...	O'Shaughnessy
Alfie Bass	...	Spider Wilkes
Toni Edgar-Bruce	...	Mrs. Harbottle-Smith

Storyline

Entertaining ensemble piece dealing with several characters who are on the way to the races on Derby day. It cleverly blends dramatic, romantic and comic elements, including the woman and lover who have murdered her husband, and the working class couple who are excited about their chance to go to the races, but end up listening to it on the radio in the car-park because they've got such a bad view.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1952 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Four Against Fate

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Herbert Wilcox Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

ensemble film, last of Neagle/Wilding pairings at backdrop of Derby Day

I watched this the other night for the first time i think, it is the last film in the Michael Wilding/Anna Neagle pairings which is the primary reason i watched it, though another Brit 1940's film couple Googie Withers and her husband John McCallum also appeared, who i also like. Derby Day is the weakest of the Neagle/Wilding films which oddly doesn't capitalise on their chemistry and casts them in sorrowful mood; there is no kiss even, let alone any singing and dancing duet-ting. Withers and McCallum have the more interesting duo plot to play I think. There is some nicely done Brit comic character supporting roles, but overall Derby Day doesn't really click or come together. It is too fragmented and moves around so much between the different stories that you never get really into anyone of them. It is a bit of a swansong film to a different earlier type of film making. Neagle is lovingly photgraphed but both her and Googie Withers seem a little old for the parts they are playing. It's hard not to flinch a little at the blatant class differences on show but then the film's over 50 years old.