Elstree Calling - DaaVeeDee

Elstree Calling (DVD) (*)

$24.99

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( Mono )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
83 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1930 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Andr? Charlot
Jack Hulbert

Written By:
Adrian Brunel
Walter C. Mycroft

Actors:
Tommy Handley ..... Himself, Compere
Gordon Begg ..... Shakespeare
Teddy Brown ..... Himself
Helen Burnell ..... Himself /
Donald Calthrop ..... Herself
Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew ..... Himself
The Charlot Girls ..... George
Bobbie Comber ..... Himself
Cicely Courtneidge ..... George's Wife
Will Fyffe ..... Herself
Lawrence Green ..... Herself /
Gordon Harker
Jack Hulbert
Hannah Jones
John Longden
Ivor McLaren
Lily Morris
Nathan Shacknovsky
John Stuart
Jameson Thomas
Anna May Wong
Katherina in Taming of the Shrew

Synopsis:

Released in 1930 by British International Pictures in response to the lavish revues being produced by the major Hollywood studios, Elstree Calling was Britain's first musical film. This all-star vaudeville show features performers drawn from some of the era's most popular London productions, including Cicely Courtneidge, Anna May Wong, John Longden, and music-hall veterans Will Fyffe and Lily Morris. Comp?red by Tommy Handley, the film presents nineteen comedy and musical sketches in the guise of a 'live' television broadcast; Alfred Hitchcock - then under contract to BIP - was responsible for creating the sketches and linking material. A fascinating snapshot of the earliest years of the British musical film and rarely seen since its original release, Elstree Calling is made available here in a brand-new transfer from the original elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Several sequences in the film were originally artificially coloured using the Path?color system and those colour sequences are intact here.

A series of 19 musical and comedy "vaudeville" sketches presented in the form of a live broadcast hosted by Tommy Handley (as himself). There are two "running gags" which connect the sketches. In one, an actor wants to perform Shakespeare, but he is continually denied air-time. The other gag has an inventor trying to view the broadcast on television. Four of the sketches are in color (in shades of yellow and brown only).

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 05 March, 2015.