''Golden Arrow'' is a 1949 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Gordon Parry and starring

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Early life Aumont was born Jea ...

and Paula Valenska. It was shot at

Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky1 and others. The complex also prov ...

. The film was eventually released as a

second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

, despite a reasonably high budget and well-known cast. It was given an American release in 1953 by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

under the title ''The Gay Adventure''.Chibnall & McFarlane p.322 It takes its title from the ''Golden Arrow'' train service.

Plot

On a journey from Paris to London, a Briton, a Frenchman and an American bond with each other and indulge in a romantic fantasy about a girl they see.

Cast

as Dick *

as Andre Marchand * Paula Valenska as Suzy / Sonia / Hedy *

Kathleen Harrison Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a worki ...

as Isobel *

Richard Murdoch Richard Bernard Murdoch (6 April 19079 October 1990) was an English actor and entertainer. After early professional experience in the chorus in musical comedy, Murdoch quickly moved on to increasingly prominent roles in musical comedy and rev ...

as David Felton * Julian D'Albie as Waterhouse * José de Almeyda as Jones *

Kenneth Kove Kenneth Kove (1892–1984) was a British actor. He was a regular member of the Aldwych farce team between 1923 and 1930, often in "silly-ass" roles; appearing in '' It Pays to Advertise'' (1923), '' Thark'' (1927), '' A Cup of Kindness'' (1929), ...

as Clergyman * Henry Pascal as Mazzini * Glyn Lawson as Max *

Karel Stepanek Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...

as Schroeder *

Edward Lexy Edward Lexy (18 February 1897, in London – 31 January 1970, in Dublin) was a British actor. He was born Edward Little. Career He made his London stage début in 1936, and his first film the following year. His film roles were a mixture of s ...

as The Colonel :;Uncredited (in alphabetical order) *

Patrick Barr Patrick David Barr (13 February 1908 – 29 August 1985) was an English actor. In his career spanning over half a century, he appeared in about 144 films and television series. Biography Born in Akola, British India in 1908, Barr was educate ...

as Hedy's Husband *

Hilda Bayley Hilda Christabel Bailey (29 June 1888 – 26 May 1971) was a British theatre and film actress. On stage from 1913, she was in both stage and film versions of ''Carnival'' in 1918 and 1921, respectively; and in the controversial crime film ''Coca ...

as Mrs. Felton *

Derek Blomfield Derek Blomfield (31 August 1920 – 23 July 1964) was a British actor who appeared in a number of stage, film and television productions between 1935 and his death in 1964. Career He trained at LAMDA and made his first stage appearance a ...

as 1st Officer in nightclub *

Gerald Case (Thomas) Gerald Case (1905 – 22 May 1985) was a British film and television actor known for his role in the 1976 Wodehouse Playhouse episode, 'Strychnine in the Soup'. He was the son of Captain Thomas Elphinstone Case, of the Coldstream Guards ...

as 1st Military policeman * Darcy Conyers as 2nd Officer in nightclub *

Sandra Dorne Sandra Dorne (born Joan Smith; 19 June 1924 – 25 December 1992) was a British actress. Career Also known as Sandra Holt, Dorne was often known in the 1950s as the B-film Diana Dors. As a platinum blonde, she was a regular female lead ...

as 2nd Nightclub hostess *

Colin Gordon Colin Gordon (27 April 1911 – 4 October 1972) was a British actor born in Ceylon. Biography He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a ...

as Connelly * Fred Griffiths as 2nd Military policeman *

Ernest Jay Ernest Jay (18 September 1893 – 8 February 1957) was a British actor. Selected filmography * '' My Lucky Star'' (1933) - Press Agent * '' Tiger Bay'' (1934) - Alf * '' The Iron Duke'' (1934) - First Orderly * '' The Phantom Light'' (1935) ...

as Mr. Felton *

Richard Molinas Richard Molinas (17 November 1911 – 1975) was a British stage and film actor. A character actor, he appeared in a number of supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storylin ...

as Schloss * Hugh Morton as Perdrelli *

Natasha Parry Natasha Parry (2 December 1930 – 22 July 2015) was an English actress of Russian descent. The daughter of film director Gordon Parry, she was married to theatre director Peter Brook from 1951 until her death, and is the mother of filmmakers ...

as Betty Felton *

Ivan Samson Ivan Samson (28 August 1894 – 1 May 1963) was a British stage, film and television actor. Samson appeared regularly in West End plays and from 1920 began appearing in British silent films. He played Viscount de Mornay in '' I Will Repay'' ...

as Commanding Officer *

Milo Sperber Milo Sperber (20 March 1911 – 22 December 1992) was a British actor, director and writer, who was born in Poland. Early life Sperber was born in 1911 into a family of Polish Hasidic Jews who fled anti-Semitism during the Second World War. Hi ...

as Black Marketeer * Gordon Tanner as Bixby *

Ingeborg von Kusserow Ingeborg von Kusserow (28 January 1919 – 14 April 2014) was a German film actress. Biography Kusserow was born in Wollstein, Province of Posen, Germany (today Wolsztyn, Poland). She starred in Nazi propaganda films during the Third Reich, w ...

as 1st Nightclub hostess * Richard Warner as Captain

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. ''The British 'B' Film''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.

External links

* 1949 films Films directed by Gordon Parry 1949 comedy films British comedy films Films with screenplays by Anatole de Grunwald Films produced by Anatole de Grunwald Films with screenplays by Sid Colin Films shot at Teddington Studios British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-comedy-film-stub