''Let's Be Famous'' is a 1939 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

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

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 ...

Betty Driver Elizabeth Mary Driver (20 May 1920 – 15 October 2011) was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', a role she played for 42 years from 1969 to 2011, app ...

and Sonnie Hale. It was made by

Associated Talking Pictures Associated may refer to: *Associated, former name of Avon, Contra Costa County, California *Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, a school in Canada *Associated Newspapers, former name of DMG Media, a British publishing company See also *Associatio ...

, with shooting beginning in November 1938.Wood p. 98 The film's

art direction 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 super ...

was by the Austrian

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 ...

, in his final production.

Cast

as Jimmy Houlihan *

as Betty Pinbright * Sonnie Hale as Finch *

Patrick Barr Patrick David Barr (13 February 1908 – 29 August 1985) was an English actor. In his career spanning over half a century, he appeared in about 144 films and television series. Biography Born in Akola, British India in 1908, Barr was educat ...

as Johnny Blake *

Basil Radford Arthur Basil RadfordAdam Greaves, "Radford, (Arthur) Basil (1897–1952)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, May 201available online Retrieved 3 August 2020. (25 June 189720 October 1952) was an English chara ...

as Watson *

Milton Rosmer Milton Rosmer (4 November 1881 – 7 December 1971) was a British actor, film director and screenwriter. He made his screen debut in ''The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'' (1915) and continued to act in theatre, film and television until 1956. In ...

as Albert Pinbright * Lena Brown as Polly Pinbright *

Henry Hallett Henry Hallett (1 February 1888 in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England, UK – 24 July 1952) was a British stage and film actor. Filmography * ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' (1932) * '' Jew Süss'' (1934) * '' Tudor Rose'' (1936) * '' Spy of Napo ...

as Grenville *

Garry Marsh Garry Marsh (21 May 1902 – 6 March 1981) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Born Leslie March Gerahty on 21 May 1902 in St Margarets, Middlesex, his parents were George and Laura. His elder brothers were the author Digby George ...

as BBC Official * Franklyn Bellamy as Ali Benali (as Franklin Bellamy) *

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 Announcer * Alf Goddard as Battling Bulger *

Raymond Huntley Horace Raymond Huntley (23 April 1904 – 15 June 1990) was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' as the pragmatic family soli ...

as Singer in trio (uncredited)

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Perry, George. ''Forever Ealing''. Pavilion Books, 1994. * 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

* 1939 films 1939 musical comedy films British musical comedy films British black-and-white films Associated Talking Pictures Films directed by Walter Forde Films set in London Films scored by Jack Beaver Films scored by Ernest Irving 1930s English-language films 1930s British films English-language musical comedy films {{musical-comedy-film-stub