''Gypsy Melody'' is a 1936 British
musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Edmond T. Gréville and starring
Lupe Vélez
María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 13, 1944), known professionally as Lupe Vélez, was a Mexican actress, singer and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican ...
,
Alfred Rode
Alfred Rode (born Alfred Spedaliere; 4 June 1905 – 22 July 1979) was an Italian-born French composer, musician, actor and film director. He was born in Torre del Greco. In 1936 Rode appeared in the British film ''Gypsy Melody'' alongside ...
and
Jerry Verno
Jerry Verno (26 July 1895 – 29 June 1975) was a British film actor. He appeared in 39 films between 1931 and 1966, including five films directed by Michael Powell, and two with Alfred Hitchcock.
He was born in London.
As well as appearing i ...
. It was made at
Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios h ...
.
[Wood p.90] The sets were designed by
art director John Mead.
The film was a remake of the 1935 French film ''
Juanita''.
Synopsis
Due to a complex series of events a Guards Officer in a small European country is imprisoned. He manages to escape in the company of an idiotic
milliner
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
and they briefly take shelter with some
gypsies
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
, where the Captain falls in love with a young woman. Having been discovered by an American promoter while performing with gypsy orchestra in a tavern, the three accompany him to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
as the latest new musical sensation. A great success, they begin a European-wide tour when their plane is forced down by bad weather in their homeland. Here events are satisfactorily resolved.
Cast
*
Lupe Vélez
María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 13, 1944), known professionally as Lupe Vélez, was a Mexican actress, singer and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican ...
as Mila
*
Alfred Rode
Alfred Rode (born Alfred Spedaliere; 4 June 1905 – 22 July 1979) was an Italian-born French composer, musician, actor and film director. He was born in Torre del Greco. In 1936 Rode appeared in the British film ''Gypsy Melody'' alongside ...
as Captain Eric Danilo
*
Jerry Verno
Jerry Verno (26 July 1895 – 29 June 1975) was a British film actor. He appeared in 39 films between 1931 and 1966, including five films directed by Michael Powell, and two with Alfred Hitchcock.
He was born in London.
As well as appearing i ...
as Madame Beatrice
*
Raymond Lovell
Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian-born actor who performed in British films. He mainly played supporting roles, often somewhat pompous characters.
Lovell initially trained as a physician at Cambridge University ...
as Court Chamberlain
*
Margaret Yarde
Margaret Yarde (2 April 1878 – 11 March 1944) was a British actress. Initially training to be an opera singer, she made her London stage debut in 1907. She often played domestics, landladies and mothers.
Filmography
* ''A Cigarette-Maker's R ...
as Grand Duchess
*
Fred Duprez
Fred Duprez (September 6, 1884 – October 27, 1938) was an American actor, comedian and singer who performed in vaudeville, phonograph record and film. He made phonograph recordings in the US and the UK in the 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s. Most of t ...
as Herbert P. Melon
*
Hector Abbas as Biergarten Manager
*
Louis Darnley as Hotel Manager
*
G. De Joncourt
G is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet.
G may also refer to:
Places
* Gabon, international license plate code G
* Glasgow, UK postal code G
* Eastern Quebec, Canadian postal prefix G
* Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australi ...
as Doctor Ipstein
*
Monti DeLyle as Marco
*
Wyn Weaver as Grand Duke
References
Bibliography
* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
* Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.
External links
*
1936 films
British musical comedy films
British black-and-white films
1936 musical comedy films
Films directed by Edmond T. Gréville
Films shot at British International Pictures Studios
British remakes of French films
1930s English-language films
1930s British films
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