Rent The Jessie Matthews Revue: Vol.4 (1938)
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- Synopsis:
Throughout the 1930's Jessie Matthews was Britain's best-loved musical film star, her dynamism and gamine charm beguiling audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. With a string of box-office hits spotlighting her unique talent, it's easy to see how she became so popular - and why she remains so to this day.
The Good Companions (1933)
Jessie shares a bill with John Gielgud and Edmund Gwenn in JB Priestley s famous tale of a failing concert party and the three 'angels' who come together by chance to rescue it.
Sailing Along (1938)Kay is a star-struck young woman working on a Thames barge. When she s spotted by a producer her dream of fame comes true but will she still have time for her boyfriend? - Actors:
- Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn, John Gielgud, Mary Glynne, Percy Parsons, A.W. Baskcomb, Florence Gregson, Frank Pettingell, Lawrence Hanray, Annie Esmond, George Zucco, Harold Meade, J. Fisher White, Muriel Aked, Arnold Riches, Mignon O'Doherty, Daphne Scorer, Harry Crocker, Margaret Yarde, Gilbert Davis
- Directors:
- Victor Saville, Sonnie Hale
- Producers:
- Michael Balcon, T.A. Welsh
- Writers:
- Ian Dalrymple, Edward Knoblock, W.P. Lipscomb, Angus MacPhail, J.B. Priestley, Sonnie Hale, Selwyn Jepson, Lesser Samuels
- Aka:
- The Good Companions / Sailing Along
- Studio:
- Network
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Drama, Music & Musicals, Romance
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Cinema Afloat: Part 3, Films to Watch If You Like..., A Brief History of Film..., What to Watch Next If You Liked Scrooge
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Reviews (1) of The Jessie Matthews Revue: Vol.4
Review of The Good Companions. - The Jessie Matthews Revue: Vol.4 review by Steve
Charming, optimistic musical comedy from the popular novel by JB Priestley which made a star of the adorably peppy Jessie Matthews. Several enterprising regional caricatures are blown together by fate and assemble in a concert party, putting on shows around the seaside towns of England.
There was some allegorical intent from Priestley which the scriptwriters retain. We are introduced to three of the characters in their prior lives in the English regions, trapped by convention in a country where everyone knows their place. They find freedom on the road with the theatre company, which operates as a co-operative, unencumbered by class.
But the politics is lightly sketched. The Good Companions are an oasis of make believe, a sanctuary from the realities of the depression. There are ensemble roles: John Gielgud is disappointingly inert as a frustrated schoolteacher who turns to songwriting; Edmond Gwenn is likeable but quite broad as a middle aged factory worker seeking a second act.
Matthews gradually commands the spotlight, more for her comic appeal than the modest song and dance numbers. This is an idealistic, uplifting film in which fortune favours the eccentric misfits and good-hearted strivers roaming the hotels, theatres and inns of England; the eternal haunts of the footloose traveller.