It's a Boy (film)
Encyclopedia
It's a Boy is a 1933 British
comedy film
directed by Tim Whelan
and starring Leslie Henson
, Albert Burdon
and Edward Everett Horton
. It is a farce about a blackmailer who attempts to demand money from a young woman on the brink of marriage. It was based on the 1931 play It's a Boy by Austin Melford
.
The two men reject his claim, and leave him in the care of Allister the butler and hurry off to the wedding only to discover they have arrived too late. The ceremony has been postponed as the bride's family have gone. They hurry round to to the Bogle household to try and justify their behaviour to Mary Bogle and her stern father. Rather than explain about being drunk, they claim they were called to an urgent business meeting and spend the rest of the day trying to produce a famous author "John Tempest" who they claim will provide them with an alibi
about their late arrival.
Allister the butler, meanwhile, has been unable to prevent Joe Piper discovering about the wedding and he also heads to the Bogle household and begins demanding large sums of money from Dudley in exchange for keeping quiet about their relationship. Skippett then persuade Joe Piper to pretend to be Tempest unaware that in real life she is actually a woman, and one of the bride's guests at the wedding. They slowly dig themselves deeper and deeper into a whole, and the Bogles prepare to leave for a holiday in the South of France.
Eventually, after both Piper and Skippett have dressed up as women and pretended to be Tempest, the Bogles agree that Dudley can marry her daughter only for Piper to reveal to them that he was Dudley's "love child" when he is not paid the blackmail
money he demands. The wedding is saved, however, when a police inspector arrives and reveals that Piper's real father is not Dudley but rather Mr Bogle who had also had a fling with his mother in 1914.
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 Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan
Tim Whelan was an American film director, writer, producer and actor.-Selected filmography:* Adam's Apple * When Knights Were Bold * It's a Boy * Aunt Sally...
and starring Leslie Henson
Leslie Henson
Leslie Lincoln Henson was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comedian who enjoyed a long stage career...
, Albert Burdon
Albert Burdon
-Filmography:* The Maid of the Mountains * Letting in the Sunshine * It's a Boy * Heat Wave * She Knew What She Wanted * Oh Boy! * Luck of the Navy * Jailbirds -External links:...
and Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Isabella...
. It is a farce about a blackmailer who attempts to demand money from a young woman on the brink of marriage. It was based on the 1931 play It's a Boy by 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...
.
Plot
On the eve of his society wedding, Dudley Leake and his best man James Skippett get drunk at his bachelor party. While in his cups Dudley confides to his friend about a brief fling he had with a woman just before the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. The following morning they oversleep and are late for their wedding. While they are dressing themselves Joe Piper, a young man with a strong Northern accent, appears at the flat and claims to be Dudley's illegitimate son from his pre-war tryst.The two men reject his claim, and leave him in the care of Allister the butler and hurry off to the wedding only to discover they have arrived too late. The ceremony has been postponed as the bride's family have gone. They hurry round to to the Bogle household to try and justify their behaviour to Mary Bogle and her stern father. Rather than explain about being drunk, they claim they were called to an urgent business meeting and spend the rest of the day trying to produce a famous author "John Tempest" who they claim will provide them with an alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
about their late arrival.
Allister the butler, meanwhile, has been unable to prevent Joe Piper discovering about the wedding and he also heads to the Bogle household and begins demanding large sums of money from Dudley in exchange for keeping quiet about their relationship. Skippett then persuade Joe Piper to pretend to be Tempest unaware that in real life she is actually a woman, and one of the bride's guests at the wedding. They slowly dig themselves deeper and deeper into a whole, and the Bogles prepare to leave for a holiday in the South of France.
Eventually, after both Piper and Skippett have dressed up as women and pretended to be Tempest, the Bogles agree that Dudley can marry her daughter only for Piper to reveal to them that he was Dudley's "love child" when he is not paid the blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
money he demands. The wedding is saved, however, when a police inspector arrives and reveals that Piper's real father is not Dudley but rather Mr Bogle who had also had a fling with his mother in 1914.
Cast
- Leslie HensonLeslie HensonLeslie Lincoln Henson was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comedian who enjoyed a long stage career...
- James Skippett - Albert BurdonAlbert Burdon-Filmography:* The Maid of the Mountains * Letting in the Sunshine * It's a Boy * Heat Wave * She Knew What She Wanted * Oh Boy! * Luck of the Navy * Jailbirds -External links:...
- Joe Piper - Edward Everett HortonEdward Everett HortonEdward Everett Horton was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Isabella...
- Dudley Leake - Heather ThatcherHeather ThatcherHeather Thatcher was an English actress in theatre and motion pictures. She was from London.-Dancer:By 1922 Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an Egyptian harem dance. Her exotic clothes were designed in Russia. They featured stencil slits in the waist,...
- Anita Gunn - Alfred DraytonAlfred DraytonAlfred Drayton was a British film actor.Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was The Beloved Vagabond at Cardiff in 1908 and his London debut was at the Haymarket Theatre the...
- Eustace Bogle - 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"...
- Allister - Wendy BarrieWendy BarrieWendy Barrie was a British actress who worked in British and American films.-Early life:Marguerite Wendy Jenkins was born in Hong Kong to British parents...
- Mary Bogle - Helen HayeHelen HayeHelen Haye was a British stage and film actress.She began acting on the stage in 1898 and debuted in London in 1911 as Gertrude in Hamlet. Her film career began in 1917. She often worked with director Alexander Korda...
- Mrs. Bogle - Joyce KirbyJoyce Kirby-Selected filmography:* The Midshipmaid * Britannia of Billingsgate * It's a Boy * The Fire Raisers * Are You a Mason? * Mayfair Melody * The Compulsory Wife -External links:...
- Lillian - J.H. Roberts - Registrar