7/10
Our Gracie
31 August 2015
Sally In Our Alley has come down in history of the British cinema as the film that introduced Gracie Fields to the movie going public. In her own way Gracie Fields the perky lass from Lancashire was a symbol of that British stiff upper lip tradition in the hard times of The Great Depression.

Fields was a marvelously versatile entertainer equally adept at comedy material and more dramatic fare shows that versatility here as the woman pining for her lost love. The lost love is Ian Hunter who was wounded in the Great War and crippled and lets it get back to her that he's been killed. So for over a decade she pined for Hunter keeping up a perky front, but in the end decides to accept the marriage proposal of pub owner Ben Field. Then Hunter who is no longer paralyzed but walks with a limp and the aid of a cane reenters the picture.

It's a slight and somewhat silly story. But as a vehicle for Fields for a motion picture debut it's a perfect fit. Gracie sings her theme song Sally and then some other numbers that became identified with her, Fred Fannakapan, Lancashire Blues, and Fall In And Follow The Band. All were much requested numbers in her Music Hall act.

Sally In Our Alley introduced Gracie Fields to film and let it be an introduction to you for a marvelous performer.
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