''The Galloping Major'' is a 1951

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus of the plot. D ...

, starring

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 ...

, Jimmy Hanley and

Janette Scott Thora Janette Scott (born 14 December 1938) is a British retired actress. Life and career Scott was born on 14 December 1938 in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. She is the daughter of actors Jimmy Scott and Thora Hird and began her career as ...

. It also featured

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African–British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinctive laugh, he was best known for numerou ...

, Charles Hawtrey and

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo show ...

in supporting roles. It was directed by

Henry Cornelius Henry Cornelius (born Owen Henry Cornelius 18 August 1913 – 2 May 1958) was a South African-born film director, film producer, producer, screenwriter and film editor. He directed five films between 1949 and 1958. Biography Born into a Ger ...

and 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 Norman Arnold. The title is taken from the song " The Galloping Major", and the plot was centred on gambling at the

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track. People in a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

suburb form a

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndic ...

to buy a race horse to run in the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

Production

The film was made as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

production, backed by the Woolf Brothers. It proved profitable at the box office, but producer Monja Danischewsky quit independent production afterwards to return to work at

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

. It has been noted as being similar in style to the Ealing comedies of the same era. It features appearances by several figures well known at the time, including the jockey Charlie Smirke and the radio commentators

Raymond Glendenning Raymond Carl Glendenning (25 September 1907 – 23 February 1974) was a BBC radio sports commentator and occasional character actor. Early years Glendenning was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, son of Robert James Samuel Glendenning, a c ...

and Bruce Belfrage.

Main cast

as Major Arthur Hill * Jimmy Hanley as Bill Collins *

as Susan Hill * A. E. Matthews as Sir Robert Medleigh * Rene Ray as Pam Riley * Hugh Griffith as Harold Temple *

as Maggie * Charles Victor as Sam Fisher *

Sydney Tafler Sydney Tafler (31 July 1916 – 8 November 1979) was an English actor who after having started his career on stage, was best remembered for numerous appearances in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s. Personal life Tafler was bor ...

as Mr. Leon *

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

as Ernie Smart, Horse Owner * Charles Hawtrey as Lew Rimmel *

Alfie Bass Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky, 10 April 1916 – 16 July 1987) was an English actor. He was born in Bethnal Green, London, the youngest in a Jewish family with ten children; his parents had left Russia many years before he was born. He a ...

as Newspaper seller *

as Bottomley *

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this period ...

as Rosedale Film Studio Director * Stuart Latham as Rosedale Film Studio Assistant *

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

as Reporter * Michael Ward as Racegoer * Edie Martin as Lady at Meeting * Sam Kydd as Newspaper Vendor *

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution. Hird w ...

as Tea Stall woman * Ellen Pollock as Horsey Lady *

Duncan Lamont Duncan William Ferguson Lamont (17 June 1918 – 19 December 1978) was a British actor.Brian McFarlane (Ed): ''The Encyclopedia of British Film'' (BFI/Methuen • London • 2000) p397''Picture Show Who's Who on the Screen'' (Amalgamated Pres ...

as Trainer *

Harold Goodwin (English actor) Harold Goodwin (22 October 1917 – 3 June 2004) was an English actor born in Wombwell, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Life and career Goodwin trained at RADA and was a stage actor at Liverpool repertory theatre for three years. He appea ...

as Street Stall Owner (uncredited) *

Michael Ward (actor) Michael Ward (born George William Everard Yoe Ward; 9 April 1909 – 8 November 1997) was an English character actor who appeared in nearly eighty films between 1947 and 1978. Early life Ward was born in Carnmenellis in Cornwall, to clergyma ...

as man with Binoculars at Racetrack (uncredited) *

Arthur Mullard Arthur Ernest Mullard ( né Mullord; 19 September 1910His obituary in ''The Times'' gives his date of birth as 10 November 1910 but conflicts with the birthdate given in his death registration. His year of birth appears as 1908, 1910, 1912 and 19 ...

as Rosedale Film Studio Employee (uncredited) * 'The Galloping Major' (the Horse, 'Bobbie') as himself

Release

The film premiered at the Plaza cinema in London on 5 May 1951. It has also been released on DVD. Cornelius later cast Kenneth More in ''Genevieve'' and ''Next to No Time''.

Location

* "Lambs Green" in the film is actually Belsize Village, (nb.

Belsize Park Belsize Park is a residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, in the Inner London, inner North West London, north-west of London, England. The residential streets are lined with Georgian and Victorian villas and mews houses. ...

and Belsize (ward)), London NW3. The cafe in the film was a greengrocer's shop in 2012, but the whole area is easily recognisable. * The race track was filmed at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

, which can be seen briefly in the background.

References

Bibliography

* Harper, Sue & Porter, Vincent. ''British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference''. Oxford University Press, 2007. * Murphy, Robert. ''Directors in British and Irish Cinema: A Reference Companion''. British Film Institute, 2006.

External links

* 1951 films British sports comedy films Films directed by Henry Cornelius 1950s sports comedy films Films shot in London Films set in London Films set in Liverpool British horse racing films Films shot at Riverside Studios British black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films English-language sports comedy films {{sport-film-stub