''Michael and Mary'' is a 1931 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Victor Saville Victor Saville (25 September 1895 – 8 May 1979) was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954. He also produced 36 films between 1923 and 1962. Biography Saville produced his first f ...

and starring

Elizabeth Allan Elizabeth Allan (9 April 1910 – 27 July 1990) was an English stage and film actress who worked in both Britain and Hollywood, where she appeared in 50 films. Life and career Allan was born in Skegness, Lincolnshire in 1910 and educated in ...

Edna Best Edna Clara Best (3 March 1900 – 18 September 1974) was a British actress. Early life Born in Hove, Sussex, England, she was educated in Brighton and later studied dramatic acting under Miss Kate Rorke who was the first professor of Drama at ...

Frank Lawton Frank Lawton Mokeley (30 September 1904 – 10 June 1969) was an English actor. Biography Frank Lawton was born in St Giles, London, on 30 September 1904. His parents were stage players Daisy May Collier and Frank Mokely Lawton. His first ...

, and

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen, and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Un ...

. This was the first of the Edna Best and Herbert Marshall co-starring talkies. It was based on a play of the same name by A.A. Milne. Milne's story was adapted by

Lajos Bíró Lajos Bíró (; born Lajos Blau; 22 August 1880 – 9 September 1948) was a Hungarian novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who wrote many films from the early 1920s through the late 1940s. Life He was born in Nagyvárad, Kingdom of Hunga ...

Robert Stevenson Robert, Rob, or Bob Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer ("Treasure Island"), grandson of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenso ...

and

Angus MacPhail Angus Roy MacPhail (8 April 1903 – 22 April 1962) was an English screenwriter, active from the late 1920s. He is best remembered for his work with Alfred Hitchcock. Early life and education Son of merchant clerk Angus MacPhail and Fanny ...

. Produced by

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, east London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The co ...

, it was shot at the company's

Islington Studios Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were British film studios located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London between 1919 and 1949. The studi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Alex Vetchinsky Alex Vetchinsky ( Alec Hyman Vetchinsky; 9 November 1904 – 4 March 1980) was a BAFTA nominated British film art director and production designer. He worked on more than a hundred productions during a career that lasted between 1928 and 1974. Ve ...

. The play was first performed on 13 December 1929 at the Charles Hopkins Theatre in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It starred Henry Hull,

Edith Barrett Edith Barrett (born Edith Barrett Williams; January 19, 1907 – February 22, 1977) was an American actress. She was a romantic star on Broadway and in the Little Theatre Movement in New England summer stock from the mid-1920s to the late 1930s ...

and

Harry Beresford Harry J. Beresford (4 November 1863 – 4 October 1944) was an English-born actor on the American stage and in motion pictures. He used the professional name Harry J. Morgan early in his career. Career Harry Beresford began his acting career i ...

. It then transferred to the

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

in London's West End.

Plot

A young bride (

) is deserted by her husband (

D. A. Clarke-Smith Douglas Alexander Clarke-Smith (2 August 188812 March 1959), professionally known as D. A. Clarke-Smith or sometimes Douglas A. Clarke-Smith was a British actor. In a stage career lasting from 1913 to 1954, with interruptions to fight in both Wo ...

) but finds happiness with another man (

). They contract a bigamous marriage for the sake of their child (

). The first husband turns up and starts black-mailing them. During a quarrel with the second husband, he dies. After some complications, their son learns the truth, but stands by them.

Cast

as Michael Rowe *

as Mary Rowe *

as David Rowe *

as Romo *

D.A. Clarke-Smith Douglas Alexander Clarke-Smith (2 August 188812 March 1959), professionally known as D. A. Clarke-Smith or sometimes Douglas A. Clarke-Smith was a British actor. In a stage career lasting from 1913 to 1954, with interruptions to fight in both Wo ...

as Harry Price *

Ben Field Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...

as Tullivant *

Margaret Yarde Margaret Yarde (2 April 1878 – 11 March 1944) was a British stage and film actress. She often played domestics, landladies and mothers. Biography Yarde was born on 2 April 1878 in Dartmouth, Devon, England. Initially training to be an o ...

as Mrs. Tullivant *

Sunday Wilshin Sunday Wilshin (26 February 190519 March 1991) was a British actress and radio producer; the successor to George Orwell on his resignation in 1943. She was born in London as Mary Aline Wilshin (corroborated by publicly available birth records; o ...

as Violet Cunliffe

Reception

The film was voted the third best British movie of 1932. With a shortened running time of 76 minutes, it was distributed in America by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

Radio adaptation

''Michael and Mary'' was presented on ''Hollywood Sound Stage'' 20 March 1952. The 30-minute adaptation starred

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...

and

References

Bibliography

* Cook, Pam. ''Gainsborough Pictures''. Cassell, 1997. * Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael And Mary 1931 films 1931 drama films British black-and-white films Films based on works by A. A. Milne Films directed by Victor Saville British drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films Gainsborough Pictures films British films based on plays Islington Studios films Universal Pictures films Films scored by Louis Levy English-language drama films