''The Story of Papworth'' (also known as ''The Story of Papworth, the Village of Hope'') is a 1935 British short fundraising

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Anthony Asquith Anthony Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among other adaptations ...

and starring

Madeleine Carroll Marie-Madeleine Bernadette O'Carroll (26 February 1906 – 2 October 1987) was an English actress, popular both in Britain and in America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Ca ...

Gordon Harker William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor. Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...

and C. Aubrey Smith. The screenplay by Major Lloyd concerns a consumptive (a

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

sufferer) who is saved by the village of Papworth, which raises funds for his treatment. The film was available for exhibition free of change.

Cast

* C. Aubrey Smith as epilogue (narrator) *

as the introducer (narrator) *

as a working man, Henry Hawkins *

Mabel Constanduros Mabel Constanduros (' Tilling; 29 March 1880 – 8 February 1957) was an English actress, screenwriter and BBC Radio personality. She gained public notice playing Mrs.Buggins on the radio programme ''The Buggins Family'', which ran from 1928 to ...

as Mrs Hawkins * Nicholas Hannen as the vicar *

Owen Nares Owen Ramsay Nares (11 August 1888 – 30 July 1943) was an English stage and film actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of ''Myself, and Some Others'' (1925). Early life Educated at Reading School, Nares was encouraged by his m ...

as Dr Strong, the doctor

Release

The film shared its royal premiere before Queen Mary on 17 December 1935 at the

Leicester Square Theatre The Leicester Square Theatre is a 400-seat theatre in Leicester Place, immediately north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It was previously known as Notre Dame Hall, Cavern in the Town and The Venue. The theatre hosts st ...

with

René Clair René Clair (; 11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette (), was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. H ...

's ''

The Ghost Goes West ''The Ghost Goes West'' is a 1935 British romantic comedy/fantasy film directed by René Clair and starring Robert Donat, Jean Parker, and Eugene Pallette. It was Clair's first English-language film. The story concerns an Old World ghost deali ...

''. The whole of the ticket proceeds was devoted to funding a nurses' home at Papworth Village Settlement.Advertisement in ''The Times'', 14 December 1935, p. 11. See also

Papworth Industries Papworth Industries was the name given to the manufacturing arm of Papworth Village Settlement, a Cambridgeshire colony for sufferers of tuberculosis founded in 1916. The luggage and travel-goods division was bought by the London firm of Swaine A ...

Reception

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "Universal has undertaken the distribution of ''The Story of Papworth'', the novel two-reel production directed for the Papworth Village Settlement by Anthony Asquith. The picture has the remarkable star cast of Madeleine Carroll, Gordon Harker. Mabel Constanduros, Owen Nares, C. Aubrey Smith and Nicholas Hannen, and while it draws attention to the excellent work done by Papworth for sufferers from tuberculosis, it has been produced on strictly entertaining lines and contains much comedy from Gordon Harker and Mabel Constanduros, in the leading roles."

References

External links

* *
The Story of Papworth
' at the East Anglian Film Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Story of Papworth 1935 films British drama short films 1935 drama films Films directed by Anthony Asquith British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films