Car of Dreams
Encyclopedia
Car of Dreams is a 1935 British
romantic
comedy film
directed by Graham Cutts
and Austin Melford
and starring Grete Mosheim
, John Mills
, Norah Howard
and Robertson Hare
. A tycoon's son falls in love with a woman who works at his father's factory. It was based on the 1934 Hungarian
film Meseautó
.
Vera has a habit of going into shops and trying on expensive clothes and jewellery
which she could never hope to pay for. On her way home from work she stops in a car dealers and sits in a new luxury car. Robert Miller, the young son of the owner of Miller's factory, sees Vera and falls instantly in love with her. He pretends to be an employee at the car showroom and they bond together. On a whim, he decides to buy Vera the car and pretend she has won it as the 10,000th customer to visit the shop. Vera's father is delighted by the new car, but her mother is more suspicious.
Miller wants to spend more time with Vera, but he is uncertain about telling her his true identity in part because he is constantly harassed by women who are interested in his inheritance. He approaches the Hart family and offers to chauffeur the car for them, doing jobs such as weddings to pay for it. As none of them can drive, they accept his offer. Miller gets into the habit of driving Vera to work at the factory, still not revealing the truth that his family owns the business.
When he discovers how little she is paid he has her salary raised to five pounds a week. Unfortunately this leads to bad feeling amongst Vera's colleagues, in particular her superior Henry Butterworth and Anne Fisher who has a crush
on Miller, who suspect that Vera is the fancy woman of Miller. Vera is bemused by her pay rise because she is under the impression that she has never met Miller.
When Vera comes to his office to confront Miller about her increased salary, he hides and gets his friend Peters to pretend to be him. Peters takes a shine to Vera, and tries to persuade her to go out on a date with him. Once she has gone, Miller and Peters get into an argument over whether each of them have a shot with her and wether she is more interested in love or money. The debate is put to the test when Vera, Miller and Peters all head down to a country hotel
for an ice-skating carnival. A concerned Mr Butterworth and Miss Fisher also head down to the hotel to keep an eye on Vera, and are shocked when they see her separately with both Peters and Miller, believing that she is two timing them.
Still without revealing his true identity, Miller asks Vera to live with him for ever in a couple of rooms over a garage
. She joyfully accepts, but when Butterworth tells her who Miller really is she is hurt - thinking that his offer was not one of marriage but one of a kept woman. She then pretends to be uninterested in Miller and instead focuses her attention on Peters. Eventually however the confusion is resolved and Miller and Vera drive off together in their “car of dreams”.
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...
romantic
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
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 Graham Cutts
Graham Cutts
Graham Cutts was a British film director who was one of the leading British directors in the 1920s. His fellow director A. V. Bramble believed that Gainsborough Pictures had been built on the back of his work. His daughter was actress Patricia Cutts...
and Austin Melford
Austin Melford
Austin Melford was a British screenwriter and film director. He was the brother of the actor Jack Melford.-Selected filmography:Director* Car of Dreams * Oh, Daddy! * Radio Lover Screenwriter...
and starring Grete Mosheim
Grete Mosheim
Margaret "Grete" Mosheim was a German film, theatre and television actress of Hungarian Jewish ancestry.-Early life:Mosheim was born in Berlin, Germany on 8 January 1905...
, John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
, Norah Howard
Norah Howard
-Selected filmography:* Love, Life and Laughter * Car of Dreams * Fighting Stock * I've Got a Horse * The Saint in London * The Lambeth Walk * An Englishman's Home * Two Loves...
and Robertson Hare
Robertson Hare
John Robertson Hare was an English comedy actor, popularly known as Bunny, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is known for routinely losing his trousers on-stage, at which point he would utter his catchphrase "Oh Calamity"...
. A tycoon's son falls in love with a woman who works at his father's factory. It was based on the 1934 Hungarian
Cinema of Hungary
Hungary has had a notable cinema industry from the beginning of the 20th century, with Hungarians who affected the world of motion picture both inside and outside the borders...
film Meseautó
Meseautó
Meseautó is a 1934 Hungary romantic comedy film directed by Béla Gaál and starring Zita Perczel, Ella Gombaszögi and Klári Tolnay. A tycoon falls in love with a poor woman and secretly buys her a car...
.
Plot
Vera Hart lives with her parents. Her father is an antiques salesman who loves his stock too much to sell it and there doesn't make any money. Through her friend Molly, Vera applies manages to get a job at Miller's music instrument factory in a menial job.Vera has a habit of going into shops and trying on expensive clothes and jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
which she could never hope to pay for. On her way home from work she stops in a car dealers and sits in a new luxury car. Robert Miller, the young son of the owner of Miller's factory, sees Vera and falls instantly in love with her. He pretends to be an employee at the car showroom and they bond together. On a whim, he decides to buy Vera the car and pretend she has won it as the 10,000th customer to visit the shop. Vera's father is delighted by the new car, but her mother is more suspicious.
Miller wants to spend more time with Vera, but he is uncertain about telling her his true identity in part because he is constantly harassed by women who are interested in his inheritance. He approaches the Hart family and offers to chauffeur the car for them, doing jobs such as weddings to pay for it. As none of them can drive, they accept his offer. Miller gets into the habit of driving Vera to work at the factory, still not revealing the truth that his family owns the business.
When he discovers how little she is paid he has her salary raised to five pounds a week. Unfortunately this leads to bad feeling amongst Vera's colleagues, in particular her superior Henry Butterworth and Anne Fisher who has a crush
Puppy love
Puppy love is an informal term for feelings of love or infatuation felt by young people during childhood and adolescence, so-called for its resemblance to the adoring, worshipful affection that may be felt by a puppy. 'Simple infatuation is often called a "crush" or "puppy love"...
on Miller, who suspect that Vera is the fancy woman of Miller. Vera is bemused by her pay rise because she is under the impression that she has never met Miller.
When Vera comes to his office to confront Miller about her increased salary, he hides and gets his friend Peters to pretend to be him. Peters takes a shine to Vera, and tries to persuade her to go out on a date with him. Once she has gone, Miller and Peters get into an argument over whether each of them have a shot with her and wether she is more interested in love or money. The debate is put to the test when Vera, Miller and Peters all head down to a country hotel
Country Hotel
Country Hotel is a 1957 comedy-drama film written and directed by Rattana Pestonji.-Plot:Noi runs a rural bar and guesthouse called the Paradise Hotel. He tends bar and arm wrestles any challengers...
for an ice-skating carnival. A concerned Mr Butterworth and Miss Fisher also head down to the hotel to keep an eye on Vera, and are shocked when they see her separately with both Peters and Miller, believing that she is two timing them.
Still without revealing his true identity, Miller asks Vera to live with him for ever in a couple of rooms over a garage
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
. She joyfully accepts, but when Butterworth tells her who Miller really is she is hurt - thinking that his offer was not one of marriage but one of a kept woman. She then pretends to be uninterested in Miller and instead focuses her attention on Peters. Eventually however the confusion is resolved and Miller and Vera drive off together in their “car of dreams”.
Cast
- Grete MosheimGrete MosheimMargaret "Grete" Mosheim was a German film, theatre and television actress of Hungarian Jewish ancestry.-Early life:Mosheim was born in Berlin, Germany on 8 January 1905...
as Vera Hart - John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as Robert Miller - Norah HowardNorah Howard-Selected filmography:* Love, Life and Laughter * Car of Dreams * Fighting Stock * I've Got a Horse * The Saint in London * The Lambeth Walk * An Englishman's Home * Two Loves...
as Anne Fisher - Robertson HareRobertson HareJohn Robertson Hare was an English comedy actor, popularly known as Bunny, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is known for routinely losing his trousers on-stage, at which point he would utter his catchphrase "Oh Calamity"...
as Henry Butterworth - Mark LesterMark LesterMark Lester is an English former child actor known for playing the title role in the 1968 musical film version of Oliver! and starring in a number of other British and European films of the 1960s and 70s and in a number of television series.-Early life and film career:Lester was born in Oxford,...
as Miller Senr. - Margaret WithersMargaret Withers-Selected filmography:* Car of Dreams 1935)* Don't Take It to Heart * Great Day * The Upturned Glass * Blanche Fury * Esther Waters * That Dangerous Age * It's Not Cricket...
as Mrs. Hart - Paul GraetzPaul Graetz-Selected filmography:* Mary * Jew Süss * Murder at Monte Carlo * Car of Dreams * Bulldog Jack * Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk * Heart's Desire * Public Enemy's Wife...
as Mr. Hart - Glennis LorimerGlennis LorimerGlennis Lorimer was a British actress who appeared in a number of films during the 1930s. She also appeared in the Gainsborough Pictures logo before the opening credits of films by that studio and is sometimes known as the Gainsborough Lady. She made her debut in the 1933 film Orders is Orders...
as Molly - Jack Hobbs as Peters
- Hay PlumbHay Plumb-Selected filmography:Director* Hamlet Actor* The Midshipmaid * The House of Trent * Orders Is Orders * Things Are Looking Up * Car of Dreams * Song of the Forge...
as Chauffeur
Soundtrack
- "Car of Dreams" (Written by Maurice SiglerMaurice SiglerMaurice Sigler was an American banjoist and songwriter.Sigler was born in New York City but moved to Birmingham, Alabama at an early age and received his musical tuition there...
, Al GoodhartAl GoodhartAl Goodhart a member of ASCAP, was born in New York City and attended DeWitt Clinton High School. During his lifetime he was a radio announcer, vaudeville pianist and special materials writer. He also owned a theatrical agency. After his 1931 hit "I Apologize" he concentrated on composing music...
and Al HoffmanAl HoffmanAl Hoffman , a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame since 1984, was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today...
)