The Private Secretary is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edward Everett Horton, Barry MacKay, Judy Gunn and Oscar Asche.[1] It is an adaptation of the play The Private Secretary by Charles Henry Hawtrey. It was made at Twickenham Studios.
| The Private Secretary | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original British trade ad | |
| Directed by | Henry Edwards |
| Written by | George Broadhurst Arthur Macrae H. Fowler Mear |
| Based on | The farce by Charles Hawtrey (The Private Secretary) and the book by Von Moser (Der Bibliotheker) |
| Produced by | Julius Hagen |
| Starring | Edward Everett Horton Barry MacKay Judy Gunn Oscar Asche |
| Cinematography | Sydney Blythe William Luff |
| Music by | W.L. Trytel (uncredited) |
Production company | Julius Hagen Productions |
| Distributed by | Twickenham Film Distributors Ltd (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Premise
editA timid and dim-witted clergyman is duped into helping a playboy avoid his creditors, inherit his uncle's fortune and get the girl.
Cast
edit- Edward Everett Horton as Reverend Robert Spalding
- Barry MacKay as Douglas Cattermole
- Judy Gunn as Edith Marsland
- Oscar Asche as Robert Cattermole
- Sydney Fairbrother as Miss Ashford
- Michael Shepley as Henry Marsland
- Alastair Sim as Nebulae
- Aubrey Dexter as Gibson
- O. B. Clarence as Thomas Marsland
- Davina Craig as Annie
Critical reception
editTV Guide felt the comedy of the Victorian farce "didn't translate well into later times. Horton and Sim (in a secondary role) serve as the film's saving graces with some nice comic moments",[2] and Sky Movies agreed, calling the film "a mostly dismal British farce stickily directed by former acting superstar Henry Edwards, but held back from disaster by the pawkily amusing performances of Edward Everett Horton, dithering delightfully in the leading role, and Alastair Sim, offering a lugubrious contribution as Mr Nebulae."[3]
References
edit- ^ "The Private Secretary (1936)". BFI. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
- ^ "The Private Secretary". TV Guide.
- ^ "The Private Secretary". Find and Watch.
External links
edit
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