''Take My Tip'' is a 1937 British

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

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

Herbert Mason Samuel George Herbert Mason (1891 – 20 May 1960) was a British film director, producer, stage actor, army officer, presenter of some revues, stage manager, theatre director, stage director, choreographer, Production manager (theatre), produ ...

(who stage managed some musical revues in the past), produced by

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

and starring

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, C ...

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End ...

Harold Huth Harold Huth (20 January 1892 – 26 October 1967) was a British actor, film director and producer. Biography Early life He was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, in 1892. He was a nephew of Eva Moore and a cousin of the actor Roland Pertwee. F ...

and Frank Cellier. It was made at the

Lime Grove Studios Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, and ...

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

. The film's sets were designed by

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 ...

Ernö Metzner. Songs featured include "I Was Anything but Sentimental" and "I'm Like a Little Birdie out of My Cage".

Premise

A pair of

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

adopt various disguises to unmask a confidence trickster.

Cast

as Lord George Pilkington *

as Lady Hattie Pilkington *

as Buchan * Frank Cellier as Paradine *

Frank Pettingell Frank Edmund George Pettingell (1 January 1891 – 17 February 1966) was an English actor. Pettingell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Manchester University. During the First World War he served with the King's Liverpool R ...

as Willis * Philip Buchel as Dancing guest *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 11 t ...

as Digworthy * H. F. Maltby as Patchett * Paul Sheridan as Clerk in Hotel *

Robb Wilton Robert Wilton Smith (28 August 1881 – 1 May 1957), better known as Robb Wilton, was an English comedian and actor. He was best known for his filmed monologues during the 1930s and 1940s, in which he played incompetent authority figures. His tr ...

as Foreman

Critical reception

''Britmovie'' called the film a "hilarious rapid-fire musical farce." ''Halliwell's Film & Video Guide'' described the film as a " easonablylively comedy musical adapted for the stars."

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. * Walker, John. (ed). ''Halliwell's Film & Video Guide 1998''.

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

Entertainment, 1998. 13th edition * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1937 films British musical comedy films 1930s English-language films 1937 musical comedy films Films directed by Herbert Mason British films based on plays Films based on works by Francis de Croisset Films shot at Lime Grove Studios British black-and-white films Gainsborough Pictures films 1930s British films English-language musical comedy films Films scored by Bretton Byrd {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub