You'd Be Surprised! is a 1930 British musical comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Forde, Joy Windsor and Frank Stanmore.[1] The film was shot at the Nettlefold Studios in Walton. It was made during the transition to sound film.[2] Originally silent, it had synchronised songs and music added. A silent version was also released to cater to cinemas that hadn't converted to sound yet.[3]
| You'd Be Surprised! | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Walter Forde |
| Written by | Walter Forde Harry Fowler Mear Sidney Gilliat |
| Produced by | Archibald Nettlefold |
| Starring | Walter Forde Joy Windsor Frank Perfitt Frank Stanmore |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Faithfull |
| Edited by | Walter Forde |
| Music by | Paul Mulder |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Butcher's Film Service |
Release date |
|
Running time | 66 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Premise
editAfter dressing up as a prisoner for a fancy dress party, a songwriter is mistaken for a notorious escaped convict.
Cast
edit- Walter Forde as Walter
- Joy Windsor as Maisie Vane
- Frank Stanmore as Frankie
- Frank Perfitt as Major
- Douglas Payne as Convict 99
Critical reception
editAllmovie described it as a "bouncy musical...At one point, the star ventures into Harold Lloyd territory when he finds himself manacled to a huge and surly thug who drags our poor hero all over London. Much of the film suffers from substandard sound recording, though a few innovative audio effects emerge from the cacophony."[4]
References
edit- ^ "You'd Be Surprised". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ "Kennington Bioscope presents Silent Laughter Saturday » The Cinema Museum, London". The Cinema Museum, London. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ Low p.413
- ^ Hal Erickson. "You'd Be Surprised (1930) - Walter Forde - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
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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