''Under the Greenwood Tree '' is a 1929 British sound

part-talkie A part-talkie is a sound film that includes at least some "talking sequences" or sections with audible dialogue. The remainder of the film is provided with a synchronized musical score with sound effects. These films more often than not contain ...

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

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

Harry Lachman Harry B. Lachman (June 29, 1886 – March 19, 1975) was an American artist, set designer, and film director. He was born in La Salle, Illinois on June 29, 1886. Lachman was educated at the University of Michigan before becoming a magazine and b ...

and starring Marguerite Allan, Nigel Barrie and Wilfred Shine. It is an adaptation of the 1872 novel ''

Under the Greenwood Tree ''Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School'' is the second published novel by English author Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, and the first of what was to become his seri ...

'' by

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

Production and release

The film's sets were designed by

Wilfred Arnold Wilfred Arnold (1903–1970), also known as C. Wilfred Arnold, was a British art director.Ryall p.98 He was a prolific contributor to British films, designing the sets for more than a hundred. His brother Norman Arnold was also an art directo ...

. It was made at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

by the leading British company of the era

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appro ...

. It was originally intended to be a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

, but following the arrival of

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

, songs and dialogue were added using the

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

system. It was released in September 1929, around the same time as '' The American Prisoner'', both films following on from the company's first sound release,

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's ''

Blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

'', in June. A review in '' Close Up'' suggested it "has perhaps the best direction yet produced from a British studio".Low p.193

Cast

* Marguerite Allan as Fancy Day * Nigel Barrie as Shinar * John Batten as Dick Dewey * Maud Gill as Old Maid * Wilfred Shine as Parson Maybold * Roberta Abel as Penny *

Antonia Brough Antonia Brough (18 May 1897 – 4 November 1937) British actress born in Chelsea, London, England; Died in Kensington, England. Selected filmography * ''The Farmer's Wife'' (1928) * ''Under the Greenwood Tree ''Under the Greenwood Tree: A R ...

as Maid * Tom Coventry as Tranter Dewey * Robison Page as Grandfather Dewey * Tubby Phillips as Tubby *

Bill Shine William Shine (born July 4, 1963) is a former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications in the First presidency of Donald Trump, first administration of President of the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump. He spent most of his ...

as Leaf * Peggie Robb-Smith as Allan * Queenie Leighton as Uncredited

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918–1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1929 films Films shot at British International Pictures Studios Films based on works by Thomas Hardy Films directed by Harry Lachman British historical drama films 1920s historical drama films Films set in England Transitional sound drama films British black-and-white films 1929 drama films 1920s English-language films 1920s British films Films scored by Hubert Bath Films scored by John Reynders Part-talkie films English-language historical drama films {{1920s-UK-film-stub

Production and release

Cast

See also

References

Bibliography

External links