Break the News (1938)

Two small-time song-and-dance men come up with what they believe is a surefire publicity stunt, guaranteed to keep their names in the public eye--one of them will "disappear" in what looks ... See full summary »

Director:

René Clair

Writers:

Paul Gury (novel) (as Loïc Le Gouriadec), René Clair

Stars:

Jack Buchanan, Maurice Chevalier, June Knight

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Buchanan	...	Teddy Enton
Maurice Chevalier	...	François Verrier
June Knight	...	Grace Gatwick
Marta Labarr	...	Sonia
Gertrude Musgrove	...	Helena
Garry Marsh	...	The Producer
Wallace Douglas	...	The Stage Manager
Joss Ambler	...	The Press Agent
Mark Daly	...	The Property Man
Gibb McLaughlin	...	The Superintendent
Robb Wilton	...	The Cab Driver
Felix Aylmer	...	Sir George Bickory
C. Denier Warren	...	Sir Edward Phring
George Hayes	...	Preident of the Tribunal
Guy Middleton	...	Englishman

Storyline

Two small-time song-and-dance men come up with what they believe is a surefire publicity stunt, guaranteed to keep their names in the public eye--one of them will "disappear" in what looks like a murder, and the other will be convicted of the crime. Then the "dead man" will suddenly show up at his partner's murder trial. Unfortunately, things don't quite go as planned. For one thing, no one seems to much care that the "dead man" is missing, and for another thing he's mistaken for the leader of a Balkan revolutionary group and is kidnapped by the other side.

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Plot Keywords:

taxi driver | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gewagtes Spiel

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack Buchanan Productions, Trio Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film received its initial USA telecast Monday 5 February 1945 on New York City's pioneer television station WNBT (Channel 1).

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Connections

Version of Les deux font la paire (1954)

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Soundtracks

We're Old Buddies
Written by Van Phillips and Jack Buchanan
Sung by Jack Buchanan and Maurice Chevalier

User Reviews

Very funny 1930s British comedy

June Knight is a London musical star with little talent but a huge press following. Bit players Jack Buchanan and Maurice Chevalier nearly get cut from her show. They can't believe the fuss that the press makes about her lost dog, because the dog was only lost a few minutes. They devise a publicity stunt where Chevalier will stage Buchanan's murder. If Buchanan can walk into the courtroom after Chevalier is convicted of murder, they know that they will get a lot of newspaper coverage. The only problem is that nobody seems to care that Buchanan is missing. And when Chevalier finally convinces the police that he is a murderer, Buchanan is mistaken for a Balkan revolutionary and is kidnapped. As Chevalier is waiting on death row, Buchanan is lined up for a firing squad in the middle of a revolution!

This long unseen British comedy by French director Rene Clair is very funny and has a lot of "black" humor that we don't associate with 1930s comedies. It was only released by poverty-row distributor Monogram in the United States, and then with some footage cut out. The ingenious screenplay will keep you guessing until the end of the film. Highly recommended!