This Week of Grace
Encyclopedia
This Week of Grace is a 1933 British
comedy film
directed by Maurice Elvey
and starring Gracie Fields
, Henry Kendall
and John Stuart
. A poor, unemployed woman is made housekeeper
at the estate of a wealthy duchess. It was promoted with the tagline "Cinderella
in modern dress". It is notable for its songs written by Harry Parr-Davies including My Lucky Day and Happy Ending.
at the nearby Swinford Castle the home of the eccentric Duchess of Swinford. She is initially cold received by the other staff but she soon wins them over with her personality and hard work. While working there she falls in love with the Duchess' nephew, Viscount Swinford and eventually marries him. Later when she wrongly believes him to have married her under the mistaken impression she is rich she leaves him and goes to take a job on the stage working in the chorus line
. Eventually the misunderstanding is cleared up and the couple reconcile.
. As the sound stage
at Twickenham was already booked, filming was done at Ealing Studios
, ironically owned by ATP.
observing that the film consolidated Field's as "England's premier entertainer".
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 Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey was the most prolific film director in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year....
and starring Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
, Henry Kendall
Henry Kendall
Henry Kendall may refer to:*Henry Kendall , British stage and film character actor*Henry Kendall , Australian ornithologist*Henry Kendall , Australian poet...
and John Stuart
John Stuart (actor)
John Stuart, born John Alfred Louden Croall , was a Scottish actor, and a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He appeared in two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock....
. A poor, unemployed woman is made housekeeper
Housekeeper
Housekeeper may refer to:* Housekeeper , a woman heading up domestic maintenance* Maid, a female with various domestic duties* Janitor, a person responsible for institutional maintenance* A person engaged in housekeeping...
at the estate of a wealthy duchess. It was promoted with the tagline "Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
in modern dress". It is notable for its songs written by Harry Parr-Davies including My Lucky Day and Happy Ending.
Synopsis
Grace Milroy loses her job working at a factory. However, through a strange set of circumstances, she is taken on as housekeeperHousekeeper
Housekeeper may refer to:* Housekeeper , a woman heading up domestic maintenance* Maid, a female with various domestic duties* Janitor, a person responsible for institutional maintenance* A person engaged in housekeeping...
at the nearby Swinford Castle the home of the eccentric Duchess of Swinford. She is initially cold received by the other staff but she soon wins them over with her personality and hard work. While working there she falls in love with the Duchess' nephew, Viscount Swinford and eventually marries him. Later when she wrongly believes him to have married her under the mistaken impression she is rich she leaves him and goes to take a job on the stage working in the chorus line
Chorus line
A chorus line is a substantial group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms such as ponies, gypsies and twirlies...
. Eventually the misunderstanding is cleared up and the couple reconcile.
Production
The film was made by Twickenham Studios following a dispute between Radio Pictures, who owned the rights to Fields, and Associated Talking Pictures (ATP) who had previously made her films. It was part of an attempt by Twickenham to move away from making Quota quickies towards more high-budget quality productions a strategy that continued until the bankcruptcy of its owner Julius HagenJulius Hagen
Julius Hagen was a German-born British film producer who produced more than a hundred films in Britain. He also directed two films The Passing of Mr. Quinn and The Other Mrs. Phipps...
. As the sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
at Twickenham was already booked, filming was done at Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
, ironically owned by ATP.
Reception
The film is one of the least well-known of Fields' work. It has been noted for its promotion of a national consensus between classes the first time this had been featured in a Fields film. It was theme which was to become a cornerstone of her work during her years of mainstream popularity. It was well-received on its release with Kine WeeklyKine Weekly
The Kinematograph Weekly, popularly known as Kine Weekly, was a trade newspaper catering to the British film industry. It was published in Britain between 1889 and 1971.-Publication history:...
observing that the film consolidated Field's as "England's premier entertainer".
Cast
- Gracie FieldsGracie FieldsDame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
- Grace Milroy - Henry KendallHenry Kendall (actor)Henry Kendall, born in London on 28 May 1897 was an English stage and film actor, theatre director and an immaculately stylish revue artiste. He died on 9 June 1962.- Early life :...
- Lord Clive Swinford - John StuartJohn Stuart (actor)John Stuart, born John Alfred Louden Croall , was a Scottish actor, and a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He appeared in two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock....
- Henry Baring - Frank PettingellFrank PettingellFrank Pettingell was an English actor.Pettingell was born in Liverpool, and educated at Manchester University...
- Mr Milroy - Minnie RaynerMinnie Rayner-Selected filmography:* The Old Curiosity Shop * If Youth But Knew * The Sleeping Cardinal * The Missing Rembrandt * The Veteran of Waterloo * I Lived with You * Excess Baggage...
- Mrs Milroy - Douglas Wakefield - Joe Milroy
- Vivian Foster - Vicar
- Marjorie Brooks - Pearl Forrester
- 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...
- Lady Warmington - Nina BoucicaultNina BoucicaultNina Boucicault was an English actress born to playwright Dion Boucicault and his wife, actress Agnes Kelly Robertson. She had three brothers, Dion William , Dion Boucicault Jr. and Aubrey Boucicault...
- Duchess of Swinford