''Variety Hour'' 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

Redd Davis Redd Davis (1896–?) was a Canadians, Canadian film director and film producer, producer who directed more than twenty films between 1932 and 1942. He was born in Canada in 1896, but he moved to Britain where he directed his first film ''The Spar ...

and starring Charles Clapham and Bill Dwyer. It is a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

show featuring a number of performers from

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

. It was made at

Wembley Studios Fountain Studios was an independently owned television studio in Wembley Park, north-west London, England. The company was last part of the Avesco Group plc. Several companies owned the site before it was bought by Fountain in 1993. Originally ...

as 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 ...

by the British subsidiary of

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

.Chibnall p.297 The film's sets were designed by the

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 ...

William Hemsley.

Plot

Cast

* Charles Clapham as Radio announcer * Bill Dwyer as Radio announcer * Brian Lawrance as Band Leader * Jack Donohue as himself *

Helen Howard Helen Howard was an American actress who appeared in a string of B-movie westerns in the late 1910s and the 1920s. Selected filmography * '' The First Auto'' (1927) * ''Quick Change'' (1925) * '' Captain Blood'' (1924) * '' Deserted at the Al ...

as Herself * Kay Katya and Kay as Themselves * The Norwich Trio as Themselves * Raymond Newell as Singer in Finale * The Music Hall Boys as Themselves *

Carson Robison Carson Jay Robison ( – ) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although his impact is generally forgotten today, he played a major role in promoting country music in its early years through numerous recordings and radio appear ...

and His Pioneers as Themselves * The Wiere Brothers as Dancers

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve. ''Quota Quickies: The British of the British 'B' Film''. British Film Institute, 2007. * Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* 1937 films British musical comedy films British black-and-white films 1937 musical comedy films Films directed by Redd Davis Films shot at Wembley Studios Quota quickies 20th Century Fox films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films English-language musical comedy films {{1930s-UK-comedy-film-stub