Boots! Boots!
Encyclopedia
Boots! Boots! is a 1934 British
comedy film
directed by Bert Tracey and starring George Formby, Beryl Formby
and Arthur Kingsley. It was made by Blakeley's Productions, Ltd. (later Mancunian Films
) at the Albany Studios in London
.
Producer John E. Blakeley
had no prior experience in film production; he had seen comedian George Formby doing his stage act and approached him to star in a feature film. Blakeley's modest studio was a one-room loft space above a taxi garage. The makeshift stage was not soundproofed, so whenever the crew members wanted to film a scene, they had to signal the garage to stop its noisy work below. The studio also had pictorial limitations, and couldn't duplicate much more than simple room interiors (many scenes were staged in cramped corners). Thus the nightclub scenes in Boots! Boots! were filmed in near-darkness, hiding the absence of set decorations, with a single spotlight trained on the performer being photographed.
The film is a patchwork of songs and jokes tied to the misadventures of bumbling John Willie, played by Formby. ("John Willie" was a character made famous by Formby's father, George Formby, Sr.
, in music halls of the early 1900s.) Despite the crude photography and recording, and the minuscule budget of £3000, Boots! Boots! became an enormous hit. It was reissued (in shortened form, in 1938) to capitalize on Formby's later fame; for six decades this 55-minute version was the only one that circulated, until an uncut, 80-minute print was located and restored for DVD release.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Bert Tracey and starring George Formby, Beryl Formby
Beryl Ingham
Beryl Ingham was a champion clogdancer and actress, as well as the wife of singer/actor George Formby, Jr.....
and Arthur Kingsley. It was made by Blakeley's Productions, Ltd. (later Mancunian Films
Mancunian Films
Mancunian Films was a British motion picture production company organized in 1934.Founded by John E. Blakeley, the company originally produced films in London on extremely low budgets. Blakeley's first studio consisted of a single soundstage in a loft space above a taxi garage...
) at the Albany Studios in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Producer John E. Blakeley
John E. Blakeley
John E. Blakeley was a British film producer, director and screenwriter, the founder of Mancunian Films.Born Ardwick, Manchester, son of James Blakeley , and Margaret . His father had become an early film distributor in 1908 after previous work as a travelling draper...
had no prior experience in film production; he had seen comedian George Formby doing his stage act and approached him to star in a feature film. Blakeley's modest studio was a one-room loft space above a taxi garage. The makeshift stage was not soundproofed, so whenever the crew members wanted to film a scene, they had to signal the garage to stop its noisy work below. The studio also had pictorial limitations, and couldn't duplicate much more than simple room interiors (many scenes were staged in cramped corners). Thus the nightclub scenes in Boots! Boots! were filmed in near-darkness, hiding the absence of set decorations, with a single spotlight trained on the performer being photographed.
The film is a patchwork of songs and jokes tied to the misadventures of bumbling John Willie, played by Formby. ("John Willie" was a character made famous by Formby's father, George Formby, Sr.
George Formby, Sr.
George Formby , born James Booth, was an English comedian and musician. He was a star in Edwardian music halls, singing and clowning in a sardonic style that influenced the young Charlie Chaplin. Formby was plagued by ill-health and suffered from tuberculosis, but despite this was one of the...
, in music halls of the early 1900s.) Despite the crude photography and recording, and the minuscule budget of £3000, Boots! Boots! became an enormous hit. It was reissued (in shortened form, in 1938) to capitalize on Formby's later fame; for six decades this 55-minute version was the only one that circulated, until an uncut, 80-minute print was located and restored for DVD release.
Cast
- George Formby - John Willie
- Beryl FormbyBeryl InghamBeryl Ingham was a champion clogdancer and actress, as well as the wife of singer/actor George Formby, Jr.....
- Snooky - Arthur Kingsley - Hotel Manager
- Tonie Forde - Chambermaid
- Lilian Keyes - Lady Royston
- Donald Read - Sir Alfred Royston
- Constance Fletcher - Mrs Clifford
- Betty DriverBetty DriverElizabeth Mary "Betty" Driver, MBE was an English singer, actress and author, best known for her role as Betty Williams on the British soap opera, Coronation Street, appearing in more than 2,800 episodes...
- Betty - Wallace BoscoWallace Bosco-Selected filmography:* Won by a Head * The School for Scandal * The Kensington Mystery * Old Bill Through the Ages * Quinneys * Balaclava * The Man Who Changed His Name...
- Mr Clifford - Myfanwy Southern - Reception Clerk
- Bert Tracey - The Chef
- Harry Hudson and his Orchestra - Themselves