Jack of All Trades is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and Jack Hulbert and starring Hulbert, Gina Malo and Robertson Hare.[1] It is based on the 1934 play Youth at the Helm. The film was made at Islington Studios, with sets designed by Alex Vetchinsky.[2]
| Jack of All Trades | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Robert Stevenson Jack Hulbert |
| Written by | Hubert Griffith (play) Paul Vulpius (play) Jack Hulbert Austin Melford J. O. C. Orton |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Starring | Jack Hulbert Gina Malo Robertson Hare |
| Cinematography | Charles Van Enger |
| Edited by | Terence Fisher |
| Music by | Bretton Byrd Louis Levy |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Gaumont British Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
editJack, out of work and responsible for an aged mother, takes a succession of jobs, bluffing his way through them all.[3]
Cast
edit- Jack Hulbert as Jack Warrender
- Gina Malo as Frances Wilson
- Robertson Hare as Lionel Fitch
- Mary Jerrold as Mrs. Warrender
- Cecil Parker as Sir. Chas Darrington
- Athole Stewart as Bank Chairman
- Felix Aylmer as Managing Director
- Ian McLean as The Fire Raiser
- H. F. Maltby as Bank Director
- Fewlass Llewellyn as Bank Director
- Marcus Barron as Williams
- C. M. Hallard as Henry Kilner
- Peggy Simpson as Typist
- Betty Astell as Dancer
- Arnold Bell
- Harry Crocker
- Henry B. Longhurst as Party Guest
- Frederick Piper as Jimmy, Employment Clerk
- Victor Rietti as Head Waiter
- Bruce Seton as Dancer
- Cyril Smith
- Netta Westcott
Critical reception
editWriting for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a mildly negative review. After giving high praise to the board meeting scene in the first half of the film, and describing it as an "excellent sequence" of "pointed fooling", Greene comments that the remainder of the film "degenerates into nothing but [...] an awful eternal disembodied Cheeriness".[4]
References
edit- ^ "Jack of All Trades (1936) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Wood p.86
- ^ "Jack of all Trades | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Greene, Graham (6 March 1936). "Rose of the Rancho/Jack of all Trades". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0192812866.)
Bibliography
edit- Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
- Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927-1939. British Film Institute, 1986.
External links
edit
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