London Town ** (1946, Sid Field, Greta Gynt, Petula Clark, Kay Kendall, Sonnie Hale, Claude Hulbert, Mary Clare) – Classic Movie Review 11,794

London Town (1946, Sid Field, Petula Clark).

The 1946 Technicolor musical film London Town, starring Sid Field and Petula Clark, is legendary as one of the biggest flops in British cinema.

The 1946 Technicolor musical film London Town stars Sid Field, Greta Gynt, Petula Clark, Kay Kendall, Sonnie Hale, Claude Hulbert, Mary Clare and has the unfortunate reputation of being one of British cinema’s biggest flops. The J Arthur Rank Organisation felt the UK needed cheering up after World War Two, and spent, and lost a fortune on the idea.

Director Wesley Ruggles’s 1946 London Town [My Heart Goes Crazy] is a big-budget British colour musical about a showbiz hopeful, comedian Jerry Sanford (Sid Field), coming to London and finally hitting the big time through the intervention of his daughter Peggy (Petula Clark, age 14). He thinks he has got work as the star of a major stage production, though he is hired only as an understudy, but Peggy sabotages the show’s star Charlie de Haven (Sonnie Hale) so Jerry gets his break

This wasteful show is slow moving, low on pizazz and filled with unprepossessing characters engaging in banal activities. Only Field gives it a really bright spark of interest, so for him and his stage comedy turns, much thanks. On the other hand there is a long roster of popular performers to relish too and plenty of postwar nostalgia interest.

Also notable in the cast are Tessie O’Shea, Jerry Desmonde, Beryl Davis, Reginald Purdell.

The screenplay is by Sig Herzig, Val Guest, and Elliot Paul, based on a story by director Wesley Ruggles,

This film was Britain’s first major Technicolor musical and also became the most notorious critical and box-office flop suffered by the J Arthur Rank Organisation. At a time of rationing and shortages, Rank spent a fortune on American songwriters (Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke), musicians (Ted Heath and his orchestra) and costumes by Orry-Kelly, while totally re-equipping the Shepperton studio after being requisitioned during the war as a factory for aircraft parts. Rank’s extravagance did not pay off. It cost £1 million and lost a lot.

It is Kay Kendall’s sixth film, and first as a named character, as Patsy. Kendall was promoted as England’s answer to Lana Turner. She recalled: ‘Nobody had ever heard of me but they called me a star. I opened bazaars, signed autographs, went to premieres, did everything a star was supposed to do. My photograph was on magazine covers and front pages of newspapers. And all before we’d ever finished the picture.’ But, after the film flopped on release, there were ‘no more bazaars to open, no more premieres, no more autographs.’

The cast are Sid Field as Jerry Sanford, Greta Gynt as Mrs Eve Barry, Petula Clark as Peggy Sanford, Kay Kendall as Patsy, Sonnie Hale as Charlie de Haven, Claude Hulbert as Charlie’s dresser Belgrave, Mary Clare as Mrs. Gates, Tessie O’Shea as herself, Jerry Desmonde as George, Beryl Davis as Paula, Scotty McHarg as Bill, W. G. Fay as Mike, Reginald Purdell as Stage Manager, Alfie Dean as Heckler, Charles Paton as Novelty Shopkeeper, Pamela Carroll as Street Singer, Marion Saunders Obligato in ‘Street Singer’, Lucas Hovinga as Dancer, Jack Parnell as Drummer, Stella Hamilton as Dancer, James Kenney as Extra, Wally Patch as Constable, Susan Shaw as Extra, and Ann Sullivan as Singer, Street Scene.

In September 2006, the film soundtrack along with bonus tracks including four early studio recordings by Clark was released on CD by Sepia Records.

In September 2011, the full-length version of the film was released on a PAL DVD by Odeon Entertainment in the UK.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,794

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com