Break the News (film)
Encyclopedia
Break the News is a 1938 British
musical
comedy film
directed by René Clair
and starring Jack Buchanan
, Maurice Chevalier
and June Knight
. Two struggling performers decide to create a fake murder scandal in order to drum up publicity for their act. It was based on the novel Le mort en fuite by Loïc Le Gouriadec.
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...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
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 René Clair
René Clair
René Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
and starring Jack Buchanan
Jack Buchanan
Walter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
, Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
and June Knight
June Knight
June Knight was an American Broadway and film actress.Aged 19, she appeared in the last Ziegfeld Follies show, Hot-Cha!...
. Two struggling performers decide to create a fake murder scandal in order to drum up publicity for their act. It was based on the novel Le mort en fuite by Loïc Le Gouriadec.
Cast
- Jack BuchananJack BuchananWalter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
- Teddy Enton - Maurice ChevalierMaurice ChevalierMaurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
- François Verrier - June KnightJune KnightJune Knight was an American Broadway and film actress.Aged 19, she appeared in the last Ziegfeld Follies show, Hot-Cha!...
- Grace Gatwick - Marta Labarr - Sonia
- Gertrude Musgrove - Helena
- Garry MarshGarry MarshGarry Marsh was a British film actor. Marsh began acting on the stage at the age of fifteen. He started off in films as a leading man but later became a character actor playing self-important roles.-Filmography:* Long Odds...
- Producer - Wallace DouglasWallace Douglas-Selected filmography:* The Love Wager * Music Hath Charms * The Last Adventurers * The Chinese Bungalow * Spies of the Air -External links:...
- Stage manager - Joss AmblerJoss AmblerJoss Ambler was an Australian-born British film and television actor.He usually played somewhat pompous figures of authority, excelling in comedy films...
- Press agent - Mark DalyMark Daly (actor)Mark Daly was a British film actor.Mark Daly was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 23 August 1887 and died 27 September 1957 in England. He made his first stage appearance in Swansea, Wales in 1906 and his first London engagement at the Shaftesbury Theatre six years later...
- Property man - Gibb McLaughlinGibb McLaughlinGibb McLaughlin was an English film actor. He appeared in 118 films between 1921 and 1959. He was born in Sunderland, England and died in London, England.-Selected filmography:* The Road to London...
- Superintendent - Robb WiltonRobb WiltonRobb Wilton, born Robert Wilton Smith was an English comedian and comic actor who was famous for his filmed monologues in the 1930s and 1940s in which he played incompetent authority figures....
- cab driver - Felix AylmerFelix AylmerSir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
- Sir George Bickory - C. Denier WarrenC. Denier WarrenC. Denier Warren or Denier Warren was an American born actor who appeared extensively on stage and screen from the early 1930s to late 1960s, mostly in the United Kingdom....
- Sir Edward Phring - George HayesGeorge HayesGeorge Hayes may refer to:* Sir George Hayes , British jurist* George "Gabby" Hayes , American actor* George Hayes , Canadian NHL linesman...
- Tribunal President - Guy MiddletonGuy MiddletonGuy Middleton Powell, usually credited as Guy Middleton, was an English film character actor.Middleton was born in Hove, England and originally worked in the London Stock Exchange, before turning to acting in the 1930s...
- Englishman - Athole StewartAthole Stewart-Selected filmography:Athole appeared in the following films:* Canaries Sometimes Sing * The Speckled Band * The Faithful Heart * The Constant Nymph *Loyalties * The Four Masked Men...
- Governor - Charles Lefeaux - Interpreter
- D.J. Williams - Judge
- Elliott Mason - Dresser
- J. Abercomie - Neighbor
- William Fazan - Passport Official
- H.R. Hignett - Prison Guard
- Wally PatchWally PatchWally Patch was a British character actor, who had supporting roles in many films. He was born Walter Sidney Vinnicombe in Willesden, London on 26 September 1888...
- Prison Guard - Hal GordonHal GordonHal Gordon was a British film actor. A character actor, he appeared in over 90 films in both comic and straight roles.He started off as a lawyer's clerk but finding it dull he decided on the stage, making his music hall debut in 1912...
- Prison Guard - George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
- Firing Squad Officer