''Boots! Boots!'' is a 1934 British

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Bert Tracy and starring

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

, Beryl Formby, and Arthur Kingsley. It was made by Blakeley's Productions, Ltd. (later Mancunian Films) at the Albany Studios in London.Richards p.196 The premiere of the film was in

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

Cast

as John Willie * Beryl Formby as Snooky * Arthur Kingsley as Hotel Manager * Tonie Forde as Chambermaid * Lilian Keyes as Lady Royston * Donald Read as Sir Alfred Royston * Constance Fletcher as Mrs Clifford * Betty Driver as Betty * Wallace Bosco as Mr Clifford * Myfanwy Southern as Reception Clerk * Bert Tracey as The Chef * Harry Hudson and his Orchestra as Themselves

Outline

Producer John E. Blakeley had no prior experience in film production; he had seen comedian George Formby doing his stage act and approached him to star in a feature film. Blakeley's modest studio was a one-room loft space above a taxi garage. The makeshift stage was not soundproofed, so whenever the crew members wanted to film a scene, they had to signal the garage to stop its noisy work below. The studio also had pictorial limitations, and could not replicate much more than simple room interiors (many scenes were staged in cramped corners). Thus the nightclub scenes in ''Boots! Boots!'' were filmed in near-darkness, hiding the absence of set decorations, with a single spotlight trained on the performer being photographed. The film is a patchwork of songs and jokes tied to the misadventures of bumbling John Willie, played by Formby. ("John Willie" was a character made famous by Formby's father, George Formby Sr., in music halls of the early 1900s.) Despite the crude photography and recording, and the minuscule budget of £3,000, ''Boots! Boots!'' became an enormous hit. It was reissued in 1938, in a shortened 55-minute form, to capitalise on Formby's later fame; for six decades this abridged version was the only one in circulation, until an uncut, 80-minute print was located and restored for DVD release.

References

Bibliography

* Richards, Jeffrey. ''The Age of the Dream Palace''. Routledge & Kegan, 1984.

External links

*
''Boots! Boots!'' at the George Formby Society
1934 films 1934 comedy films British comedy films Films shot in Greater Manchester British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films English-language comedy films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub