''Mayfair Melody'' is a 1937 British

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring popular

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...

singer Keith Falkner in the first of his three screen performances. It was produced at

Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky One and others. The complex also prov ...

by the British subsidiary of

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

. The film was a

quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act 1927 ( 17 & 18 Geo. 5. c. 29) was an act of the UK Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received royal assent on 22 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. Description T ...

production, starring Falkner as a factory hand whose exceptional singing voice is discovered by the daughter of the factory owner. She then helps him rise to fame and fortune as a professional singer. ''Mayfair Melody'' is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

.Missing Believed Lost
British Pictures Article Archive.

Cast

* Keith Falkner as Mark *

Chili Bouchier Chili Bouchier (born Dorothy Irene Boucher; 12 September 1909 – 9 September 1999) was an English film actress who achieved success during the silent film era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progre ...

as Carmen *

Bruce Lester Bruce Lester (6 June 1912 – 13 June 2008) was a South African-born English film actor with over 60 screen appearances to his credit between 1934 and his retirement from acting in 1958. Lester's career divided into two distinct periods. Betwe ...

as Dickie *

Joyce Kirby Joyce Kirby (15 March 1915 – 1985) was a British actress. On stage from childhood and a dancer in Cochrane shows, she appeared in several British films of the 1930s. Selected filmography * '' The Midshipmaid'' (1932) * '' A Safe Proposit ...

as Brenda *

Glen Alyn Glenore Jean Pointing (1913–1984), known professionally as Glen Alyn, was an Australian actress who appeared in British films from the 1930s until 1957. Originally a dancer in West End revue, she made her film debut in '' The Outsider'' (1931 ...

as Daphne *

Aubrey Mallalieu Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s. Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...

as Dighton * George Galleon as Lord Chester * Louis Goodrich as Ludborough * Ian McLean as Collecchi * Vivienne Chatterton as Mme. Collecchi

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

*
''Mayfair''
at BFI Film & TV Database 1937 films British musical films 1937 musical films Films directed by Arthur B. Woods Lost British films 1930s English-language films British black-and-white films Films shot at Teddington Studios Warner Bros. films 1937 lost films Lost musical films 1930s British films English-language musical films {{UK-musical-film-stub