''Friday the Thirteenth'' is a 1933 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

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 Jessie Matthews,

Sonnie Hale John Robert Hale-Monro (1 May 1902 – 9 June 1959), known as Sonnie Hale, was an English actor, screenwriter, and director. Early life John Robert Hale-Monro was born in Kensington, London, the son of Belle Reynolds and actor Robert Hal ...

and Muriel Aked.

Plot

The film depicts the lives of several passengers in the hours before they are involved in a bus crash.

Cast

* Jessie Matthews as Millie *

as Alf the Conductor * Muriel Aked as Miss Twigg * Cyril Smith - Fred the Driver * Richard Hulton as Johnny * Max Miller as Joe *

Alfred Drayton Alfred Drayton (1 November 1881 – 26 April 1949) was a British stage and film actor. Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was ''T ...

as The Detective * Hartley Power as American tourist * Percy Parsons as American tourist *

Ursula Jeans Ursula Jean McMinn (5 May 1906 – 21 April 1973), better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress. Biography Jeans was born in Simla, British India, to English parents, and brought up and educated in London. S ...

as Eileen Jackson *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 1 ...

as Henry Jackson * D. A. Clarke-Smith as Max *

Gibb McLaughlin George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sales ...

as Florist * Edmund Gwenn as Mr Wakefield *

Mary Jerrold Mary Jerrold (4 December 1877 – 3 March 1955) was an English actress. She was married to actor Hubert Harben, and mother of actress Joan Harben and celebrity chef Philip Harben. She made her London stage debut as Prudence Dering in ''Mary Pe ...

as Flora Wakefield *

Gordon Harker William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor. Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...

as Hamilton Briggs *

Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flints ...

as William Blake *

Frank Lawton Frank Lawton Mokeley (30 September 1904 – 10 June 1969) was an English actor. His parents were stage players Daisy May Collier and Frank Lawton (I). His first major screen credit was ''Young Woodley'' (1930). In the mid-1930s, Lawton appe ...

as Frank Parsons * Belle Chrystall as Marry Summers * O. B. Clarence as Clerk *

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Ga ...

as Ralph Lightfoot * Martita Hunt as Agnes Lightfoot *

Leonora Corbett Leonora Corbett (28 June 1908 – 29 July 1960) was an English actress, noted for her charm and elegance in stage roles, and for a number of films made in the 1930s. Life and career Corbett was born in London, the daughter of Richard Ashwin Cor ...

as Dolly * Ralph Richardson as Horace Dawes * Donald Calthrop as Hugh Nicholls * Ivor McLaren as Dancing instructor * Winifred Poole as Martha * Wally Patch as Bookmaker

Critical reception

'' AllMovie'' wrote, "Extraordinarily well cast for a mid-1930s British film, ''Friday the 13th'' affords excellent acting opportunities for the likes of Jessie Mathews, Ursula Jeans, Frank Lawton, Ralph Richardson, Max Miller, O.B. Clarence and Emlyn Williams, among many many others. While American critics were impressed by the film, British reviewers were less kind, commenting that the constant switch from one character to another only results in confusion (PS: It doesn't)."

Home media

On 6 April 2015, ''Friday the Thirteenth'' was released on DVD as part of Volume 1 of ''The Jesse Matthews Revue''.

References

External links

* * 1933 films 1933 drama films British drama films Films directed by Victor Saville Films produced by Michael Balcon Gainsborough Pictures films British black-and-white films Films set in London 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-film-stub