Sailing Along ***½ (1938, Jessie Matthews, Barry MacKay, Jack Whiting, Roland Young) – Classic Movie Review 9933

Director Sonnie Hale’s 1938 British romantic musical comedy Sailing Along is a sweet showcase for his wife Jessie Matthews. It is the third and last of their films together as director and star, following Head Over Heels and Gangway.

Roland Young also stars as Anthony Gulliver, an eccentric millionaire impresario who backs bargee Skipper Barnes (Frank Pettingell)’s dancing adopted daughter Kay Martin (Matthews) for a starring role in the West End with American hoofer Dicky Randall (Jack Whiting), to the disapproval of Young’s sister Victoria Gulliver (Athene Seyler). Skipper Barnes has brought up Kay on a Thames River barge and his natural son Steve Barnes (Barry MacKay) thinks of Kay as a sister. However, Steve gets new ideas about Kay and Dicky gets the same ideas.

It is a silly stock plot but a reasonable excuse for a quite pleasant enough backstage musical comedy, in which the support players are so talented and amusing they take over Jessie’s show. So she is seen on peak form only in the singing and dancing numbers. No matter, she still goes Sailing Along.

But there is hearty direction by Matthews’s husband Hale to keep the show on the road. The several lovely songs include the highlights ‘Trusting My Luck’, ‘Your Heart Skips a Beat’ and ‘My River’ and the very stylish ‘Souvenir of Love’ (performed by Jessie in a white gown, black top hat and cane against art deco sets) – all music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Maurice Sigler.

Also in the cast are Barry Mackay, Jack Whiting, Noel Madison, Alastair Sim, Athene Seyler, Frank Pettingell, Peggy Novak, Patrick Barr, Bruce Winston, Edward Cooper, Leslie Laurier, Charles Paton, Margaret Vyner, William Dewhurst and Arthur Denton.

Sailing Along is directed by Sonnie Hale, runs 90 minutes, is made by Gaumont British Picture Corporation, is released by General Film Distributors (1938) (UK) and Gaumont British Picture Corporation of America (1938) (US), is written by Lesser Samuels (adaptation and dialogue) and Sonnie Hale (scenario), from Selwyn Jepson’s original story, is shot in black and white by Glen MacWilliams, is produced by Michael Balcon, and is scored by Louis Levy (musical director) and Clive Richardson, with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Maurice Sigler, and designs by Alfred Junge. The dresses are by Norman Hartnell.

Hale and Matthews were married from 24 January 1931 to 3 July 1944 (divorced, with one child).

Hale’s career as director ended in 1938 after the cancellation of the musical Asking for Trouble he had written for Matthews.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9933

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