''For Valour'' is a 1937 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

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

and starring Walls,

Ralph Lynn Ralph Clifford Lynn (8 March 1882 – 8 August 1962) was an English actor who had a 60-year career, and is best remembered for playing comedy parts in the Aldwych farces first on stage and then in film. Lynn became an actor at the age of 1 ...

and

Veronica Rose Veronica Rose (8 July 1911 – 25 January 1968) was a British stage and film actress. During the 1930s she appeared in a number of films directed by or starring her father-in-law Tom Walls, including several Aldwych Farce adaptations. Selecte ...

. It was made at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...

, with sets designed by

Oscar Werndorff Oscar Friedrich Werndorff (1880–1938) was an Austrian art director. After leaving Germany in the early 1930s he moved to Britain where he worked in the British film industry. He co-directed the 1931 film '' The Bells''.Bergfelder & Cargnell ...

. Unlike previous films starring Walls and Lynn, it was based on an original screenplay rather than one of the Aldwych Farces. Both Walls and Lynn played

dual roles A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

of two Boer War veterans and their son and grandson respectively. It was the last time the two actors, who had been one of the most popular film comedy teams of the decade, appeared together on screen.

Synopsis

During the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

, Private Doubleday saves the life of Major Pyke. Pyke recommends that he be awarded a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

but the Private is instead sent to prison when his past crimes are discovered. Pyke therefore decides to raise Doubleday's son as his own. Many years later the younger Doubleday has grown to be a master criminal who has never been caught by the police, but whose plans for a major job are ruined by the interference of his ex-convict father.

Cast

as Doubleday *

as Major Pyke *

as Phyllis Chisholm *

Joan Marion Joan Marion Nicholls (28 September 19085 November 2001), known professionally as Joan Marion, was an Australian-born stage, film and television actress. Her family moved to Britain when she was three, and at eighteen she attended the Royal Acad ...

as Clare Chester *

Hubert Harben Leonard Hubert S Harben (12 July 1878 – 24 August 1941) was an English stage and film actor. He was married to the actress Mary Jerrold and father of celebrity chef Philip Harben. Selected filmography * '' Mr. Pim Passes By'' (1921) * '' Ev ...

as Mr. Gallop * Henry B. Longhurst as Inspector Harding * Gordon James as Fowle *

Reginald Tate Reginald Tate (13 December 1896 – 23 August 1955) was an English actor and a veteran of many roles on stage, in films and on television. He is remembered best as the first actor to play the television science-fiction character Professor ...

as Chester *

Evan Thomas Evan Welling Thomas III (born April 25, 1951) is an American journalist, historian, lawyer, and author. He is the author of 11 books, including two ''New York Times'' bestsellers. Early life and career Thomas was born in Huntington, New York, ...

as Prison Governor *

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later on in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered f ...

as General *

Joyce Barbour Joyce Barbour (27 March 1901 – 16 March 1977) was an English actress. She was the wife of the actor Richard Bird. Barbour was born in Birmingham on 27 March 1901 the daughter of Horace and Miriam Barbour, her father was an assurance cler ...

as Barmaid *

Romilly Lunge Romilly Lunge (1904–1994) was a British film actor. He made a total of 15 films and appeared in many stage plays between 1933 and 1940. Career When war broke out Lunge joined the Royal Navy, ending up in Ceylon working on sonar detection. O ...

as Stafford * Basil Lynn as Solicitor * Walter Lindsay as Butler * D.J. Williams as Hiccuping Judge

Critical reception

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 ...

'' wrote, "this Ben Travers comedy keeps promising to burst into life, but is eventually snuffed out by the endless round of deceptions and misunderstandings that were the trademark of his celebrated Aldwych productions. Expert farceurs Tom Walls and Ralph Lynn are as happy as sandboys in their dual roles but, while Walls plays father and son with the customary glint in his eye, Lynn fails to bring the same vim to the part of a Boer War veteran as he does to his shady, silly-ass grandson"; whereas ''

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

'' was more positive, writing, "Ben Travers contributes a clever screenplay with a sweetly-turned ending, and Walls (who also directed) and Lynn do first-class work"; and ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' called it "One of Walls and Lynn's better British comedies." Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

gave the film a good review, voicing his appreciation that the film brings viewers back to the elaborate and almost universal roguery in the tradition of '' The English Rogue'' and ''

Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wit ...

''. Greene praised the acting of both Walls and Lynn who play multiple characters throughout the film, and stated that his only complaint was that it was "a little marred by an inability to remain wholly flippant." (reprinted in: )

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Sutton, David R. ''A Chorus of Raspberries: British Film Comedy 1929-1939''. University of Exeter Press, 2000. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* {{Tom Walls 1937 films British historical comedy films British black-and-white films 1930s historical comedy films Films directed by Tom Walls Films shot at Shepperton Studios Films set in the 1890s 1930s English-language films 1930s British films English-language historical comedy films