''Front Line Kids'' is a 1942 British second feature ('B')

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

Maclean Rogers Maclean Rogers (13 July 1899 – 4 January 1962) was a British film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography Director * ''The Third Eye (1929 film), The Third Eye'' (1929) * ''The Mayor's Nest'' (1932) * ''Up for the Derby'' (1933) * ...

and starring

Leslie Fuller Leslie Fuller (9 October 1888 – 24 April 1948) was a British comedy film actor. Early life Albert Leslie Fuller was born in 1888 at 14 Pollard Row, Bethnal Green, London.Some sources wrongly give his birthplace as Margate, as he had a lifelo ...

. It was written by Jack Byrd, H. F. Maltby and Kathleen Butler.

Plot

In wartime London an unruly group of boys assist an incompetent hotel porter to thwart a gang of criminals operating out of the building.

Cast

* Gerald Rex as Bert Wragg *

as Nobby Clarkson * John Singer as Ginger Smith * John Tacchi as Front Line Gang member * Marion Gerth as Elsa la Rue *

David Keir David Keir (1884–1971) was a British film actor, who also appeared on stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the ...

as The Parson * George Pughe as Pinski * Anthony Holles as hotelier *

Ralph Michael Ralph Michael (26 September 1907 – 9 November 1994) was an English actor. He was born as Ralph Champion Shotter in London. His film appearances included '' Dead of Night'', '' A Night to Remember'', '' Children of the Damned'', '' Grand Pri ...

as Paul * Ben Williams as porter *

Norman Pierce Norman Pierce (5 September 1900 – 22 March 1968) was a British actor. He was born in Southport, Lancashire. He died in Helions Bumpstead, Essex, England on 22 March 1968 at the age of 67. He played pub landlords and barmen in a number of d ...

as P.C. Rozzer *

Eric Clavering Eric Clavering (15 March 1901 – 10 June 1989) was a British-born actor who spent much of his career in Canada. He played supporting roles in a number of British films during the Second World War. He later moved to Canada, and had a recurring ro ...

as Carl *

Vi Kaley Vi Kaley, (19 November 1878, Lambeth – 1967, Marylebone), was a British actress. Violet Kaley married the gymnast Alfred Lilley Artois (1874-1933) in 1899. Partial filmography * '' Lloyd of the C.I.D.'' (1932) * '' A Royal Demand'' (1933) * '' ...

as Mrs. Lowther *

Nora Gordon ''Nora Gordon'' (29 November 1893 – 11 May 1970) was a British film and television actress. She was married to Leonard Sharp. Her daughter was actress Dorothy Gordon. She also appeared in several British Ministry of Information films, particu ...

as evacuee organiser * Brian Fitzpatrick as Front Line Gang member * Derek Prendergast as Front Line Gang member * Gerald Moore as Front Line Gang member * Michael John as Front Line Gang member * David Anthony as Front Line Gang member * Norah Black * O. B. Clarence as 'real' clergyman *

Vincent Holman Vincent Holman (22 September 1886 – 7 April 1962) was a British stage, film and television actor. On stage, he was in the original cast of Arnold Ridley's '' The Ghost Train'' at Brighton's Theatre Royal and London's St. Martin's Theatre ...

as Police Sergeant * Kay Lewis as receptionist * Douglas Stewart as hotel guest

Production

It was made at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the north bank of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having opened in May 1976, th ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Andrew Mazzei Andrew Mazzei (1887–1975) was a French-born British art director who designed the sets for more than sixty films during his career. Mazzei began his career in the late 1920s during the silent era including on the futuristic ''High Treason''. By ...

Reception

According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' the film was "a turn up" at the British box office in June 1942. ''

The 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: "Maclean Rogers has made a good job of the direction of this farcical film, and it runs smoothly and quickly to its inevitable conclusion with plenty of laughs from the dialogue and the situations. "The Gang", a collection of juvenile actors, stand out for their natural performances which are sometimes in contrast with those of their elders. Anthony Holles gives an amusing character study of an excitable foreign hotel manager. Leslie Fuller is his usual self as Nobby Clarkson. Gerald Rex and John Singer are the page boys and make as miich of their parts as possible, even if the latter occasionally is inclined to forget he is a full-blooded Cockney."

References

External links

* {{Maclean Rogers 1942 films British comedy films 1942 comedy films Films set in London Films directed by Maclean Rogers British black-and-white films Films scored by Percival Mackey 1940s English-language films 1940s British films