HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Cheer Boys Cheer'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by
Walter Forde Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and Film director, director. Born in Lambeth, South London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era ...
and starring
Nova Pilbeam Nova Margery Pilbeam (15 November 1919 – 17 July 2015) was an English film and stage actress. She played leading roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films of the 1930s, and made her last film in 1948. Early life Pilbeam was born in Wimbledon, Surr ...
,
Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won t ...
,
Jimmy O'Dea James Augustine O'Dea (26 April 1899 – 7 January 1965) was an Irish actor and comedian. Life Jimmy O'Dea was born at 11 Lower Bridge Street, Dublin, to James O'Dea, an ironmonger, and Martha O'Gorman, who kept a small toy shop. He was one of ...
,
Graham Moffatt Graham Victor Harold Moffatt (6 December 1919 – 2 July 1965) was an English comedic character actor. He is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': a plump cheekily insolent street-savvy ...
,
Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he ...
and Peter Coke.


Plot

Edward Ironside, the head of Ironside Brewery Ltd, informs his board of directors of his intention to expand the company's reach by taking over almost one hundred pubs under the control of another
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 ...
-based brewery, Greenleaf. Ironside have adopted a modern, industrial approach to brewing and their newest board member, Naseby takes a disdainful view of Ironside's ambitions, suggesting that the company are sacrificing taste and quality for increase production. Ironside's attitude is sharply contrasted by the Greenleaf brewery, which maintains a casual, friendly relationship with employees and has been run by the family for almost 150 years. Ironside has purchased as many shares in Greenleaf as possible but the owner, Tom Greenleaf, retains a majority share. Edmund Ironside visits Tom Greenleaf at the Cross Keys Inn, with his son, Ironside's Director of Publicity, John, instructing him that "the Greenleaf brewery has got to go". Following a misunderstanding that Ironside desires to purchase Greenleaf's prized Toby Jug collection, rather than his brewery, Tom consults his headstrong daughter Margaret who demands he refuse the offer, despite Tom previously admitting to one of his employees, Matt Boyle that the company were having some financial difficulties. Incensed, Ironside threatens Greenleaf that they have one week to accept his offer. John Ironside arranges to have dinner with Margaret Greenleaf at the Cross Keys Inn though hides his true identity as a member of the Ironside team. Masquerading as an advertising executive, he tricks his way into the Greenleaf company where he plots to sabotage the brewery. As John spends time in the jovial atmosphere at Greenleaf, he finds the ways of working and light-hearted attitudes appealing and calls his father to announce he will be remaining at Greenleaf as their advertising manager, where profits are already beginning to increase. He and Margaret take an unsuccessful drive in a motorcar where he asks Margaret to marry him, to which she enthusiastically agrees. Unbeknown to them, Matt also harbours feelings for Margaret and asks her father, Tom, if he can use the upcoming 150th anniversary celebrations to propose to her. Following a theatrical show and passionate recital of 'Old Obadiah' Matt presents Tom with an oversized Toby Jug. Tom then announces to the crowd that his daughter Margaret is to be married to Matt. Horrified at the misunderstanding, Margaret tells her father that she is betrothed to John, as Matt celebrates outside. Edmund Ironside then arrives, informing Tom that his son, John Ironside, has been working at Greenleaf under his instructions, deliberately sabotaging their operation. John is dismayed and refuses to ever return to his father's brewery. Ironside tells Greenleaf that "you can't hold out against Ironsides" and sends a group of thugs to the Coach and Horses, a Greenleaf pub. A bar fight ensures, with Greenleaf employees and staff facing off against the heavies. Tom becomes distressed at the damage to both his premises and employees and debates conceding to Ironside, to which he is encouraged to continue to fight. John tries to explain to Margaret, persuading the Greenleafs that he can fight his father as he knows his underhand tricks. Meanwhile Matt, who is still drunk from the previous night's antics, enters an Ironside board meeting and ends up giving his ten Greenleaf shares to Ironside, finally giving Ironside the a majority stake. He telephones Tom, gloating that he will be closing down the Greenleaf houses. John devises a plan to beat Ironsides by tainting their beer with a specially-brewed mixture which makes drinkers cry uncontrollably. This leads to a sensation, with Ironside facing closure as the board of directors sob into their beer mugs. John offers his father a chance to remain in business by agreeing to sell Greenleaf ales in all of their pubs, to which Ironside reluctantly agrees. When Tom hears of the plot, he refuses to sign the agreements as he does not approve of John's underhand methods and feels he can't take advantage of Ironside's misfortune. Tom finally agrees when John and Margaret tell him of their wedding, resulting in the happy union of Greenleaf and Ironside.


Cast

*
Nova Pilbeam Nova Margery Pilbeam (15 November 1919 – 17 July 2015) was an English film and stage actress. She played leading roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films of the 1930s, and made her last film in 1948. Early life Pilbeam was born in Wimbledon, Surr ...
as Margaret Greenleaf *
Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won t ...
as Edward Ironside *
Jimmy O'Dea James Augustine O'Dea (26 April 1899 – 7 January 1965) was an Irish actor and comedian. Life Jimmy O'Dea was born at 11 Lower Bridge Street, Dublin, to James O'Dea, an ironmonger, and Martha O'Gorman, who kept a small toy shop. He was one of ...
as Matt Boyle *
Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he ...
as Geordie *
Graham Moffatt Graham Victor Harold Moffatt (6 December 1919 – 2 July 1965) was an English comedic character actor. He is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': a plump cheekily insolent street-savvy ...
as Albert Baldwin * C. V. France as Tom Greenleaf * Peter Coke as John Ironside *
Alexander Knox Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor and writer. He appeared in over 100 film, television, and theatrical productions over a career spanning from the 1920s until the late 1980s. He was nominated for an Oscar ...
as Saunders *
Ivor Barnard Ivor Barnard (13 June 1887 – 30 June 1953) was an English stage, radio and film actor. He was an original member of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where he was a notable Shylock and Caliban. He was the original Water Rat in the first Lo ...
as Naseby *
Walter Forde Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and Film director, director. Born in Lambeth, South London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era ...
as pianist at wedding * James Knight as Ironside's chauffeur *
Hay Plumb Edward Hay-Plumb (1883 in Norwich, Norfolk – 1960 in Uxbridge, Middlesex) was an English actor and film director. He served as a lieutenant in the West Yorkshire Regiment during World War I. Selected filmography Director * ''Hamlet'' (1913) * ...
as Greenleaf employee * Charles Rolfe as Ironside thug * Harry Terry as brewery worker * Jean Webster-Brough as Maggie


Production

The film was made by
Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
, almost a year after
Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...
had taken over from
Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, a ...
as head of production. Filming began in late March 1939, after director
Walter Forde Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and Film director, director. Born in Lambeth, South London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era ...
spent a week travelling hundreds of miles visiting breweries throughout
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, conducting research and scouting locations. Ultimately, the largest stage at
Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
was used, with a fully functional brewery and yard constructed. Production completed two days ahead of schedule in early May 1939.
Nova Pilbeam Nova Margery Pilbeam (15 November 1919 – 17 July 2015) was an English film and stage actress. She played leading roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films of the 1930s, and made her last film in 1948. Early life Pilbeam was born in Wimbledon, Surr ...
was best known as a child actress and had last been seen by audiences in Alfred Hitchcock's ''
Young and Innocent ''Young and Innocent'', released in the US as ''The Girl Was Young'', is a 1937 British Crime film, crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney. Based on the 1936 novel ''A Shilling for Candl ...
'' (1937). She had recently married
Pen Tennyson Frederick Penrose "Pen" Tennyson (26 August 1912 – 7 July 1941) was a British film director whose promising career was cut short when he died in a plane crash. Tennyson gained experience as an assistant director to Alfred Hitchcock in several ...
, a promising young film director who had recently completed his first film for Ealing, ''
There Ain't No Justice ''There Ain't No Justice'' is a 1939 British sports drama film directed by Pen Tennyson and starring Jimmy Hanley, Edward Chapman and Edward Rigby. The film is based on the 1937 novel of the same name by James Curtis. Plot summary Tommy Mu ...
'' (1939) The film was produced in the months leading up to
World War Two World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisi ...
with the arrogant, uncompromising attitude of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
conveyed with Ironside's dictatorial owner, who is seen reading
Mein Kampf (; ) is a 1925 Autobiography, autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The book outlines many of Political views of Adolf Hitler, Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology and future plans for Nazi Germany, Ge ...
in one scene. In contrast, Greenleaf is a clear allegory for pre-war
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, with pastoral imagery conjured by the brewery's location and name and a democratic attitude to managing workers.Perry p.42-43 It was the last Ealing film to be released before the outbreak of war.


Reception

The film has come to be seen as a precursor of the later " Ealing Comedies, sharing a similar theme of big versus small, traditional versus modern with the later films which began with ''
Hue and Cry In common law, a hue and cry is a process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been witnessed in the act of committing a crime. History By the Statute of Winchester of 1285, 13 Edw. 1. St. 2. c. ...
(''1947). ''
Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...
'' said: "Any absence of piquancy and originality in theme is ... offset by exuberant team-work and generous production values. By the time the picture ends it has to its credit a clean well-balanced light entertainment of wide appeal"''.'' ''
Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' wrote: "Farcical comedy.  ... The best performance is given by Jimmy O'Dea as the Irish brewer at Greenleaf's, who turns prohibitionist whenever he becomes drunk." In ''British Sound Films'' David Quinlan called the film "a pleasing slice of life, if not especially funny." The ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
Guide to Films'' gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "A pleasing British comedy."


References


Bibliography

* Perry, George. ''Forever Ealing: A Celebration of the Great British Film Studio''. Pavilion, 1981.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheer Boys Cheer 1939 films 1939 comedy films 1930s British films 1930s English-language films British black-and-white films British comedy films Ealing Studios films English-language comedy films Films about beer Films directed by Walter Forde Films produced by Michael Balcon Films set in England Films set in London