Britannia of Billingsgate 1933
Britannia of Billingsgate
The owner of a fish-and-chips shop in the Billingsgate area of London harbors a secret ambition: to become a movie star. It turns out that she has a beautiful singing voice, and when that fact comes to the attention of a movie studio, it begins to turn her and her family's lives upside down.
The owner of a fish-and-chips shop in the Billingsgate area of London harbors a secret ambition: to become a movie star. It turns out that she has a beautiful singing voice, and when that fact comes to the attention of a movie studio, it begins to turn her and her family's lives upside down.
Videos & Photos
All 0 Videos & 1 Photoscast
Full Cast & Crew... Bessie Bolton
... Bert Bolton
... Pearl Bolton
... Fred Bolton
... Mrs. Wigglesworth
... Harold Hogarth
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews29 Aug 2022 by CinemaSerf
This is actually quite a cheery little feature that sees fish and chip shop owner "Bessie" (established theatre star Violet Loraine) aspire to become a film star. Fat chance thinks you! Well, as it happens she has a decent enough singing voice and when she is "discovered" by a local studio, her life with family "Bert" (Gordon Harker), "Pearl" (Kay Hammond) and "Fred" (John Mills) is suddenly all topsy-turvy. What makes this a little more memorable is that it demonstrates to an audience just how films were put together then - the filming, audio, lighting - and film was expensive stuff so much of this was live! Harker and Loraine have a conviviality to their characters that lends well to the gentle comedy very much of it's time: an amiable English combination of stoicism and opportunity - with a solid supporting cast. It has a charm to it this. That doesn't make it memorable or really even very good, but it had a job to do in 1930s Britain and I suspect it did it well enough to pack out the houses for eighty minutes on a Saturday afternoon.
Directors:
Producers:
Release Date:
Jan 01, 1933 (United Kingdom)
Run Time:
1hr 20`
MMPA Rating:
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United Kingdom
Status:
Released
Related Movies To
Britannia of Billingsgate
This is actually quite a cheery little feature that sees fish and chip shop owner "Bessie" (established theatre star Violet Loraine) aspire to become a film star. Fat chance thinks you! Well, as it happens she has a decent enough singing voice and when she is "discovered" by a local studio, her life with family "Bert" (Gordon Harker), "Pearl" (Kay Hammond) and "Fred" (John Mills) is suddenly all topsy-turvy. What makes this a little more memorable is that it demonstrates to an audience just how films were put together then - the filming, audio, lighting - and film was expensive stuff so much of this was live! Harker and Loraine have a conviviality to their characters that lends well to the gentle comedy very much of it's time: an amiable English combination of stoicism and opportunity - with a solid supporting cast. It has a charm to it this. That doesn't make it memorable or really even very good, but it had a job to do in 1930s Britain and I suspect it did it well enough to pack out the houses for eighty minutes on a Saturday afternoon.
Cast & Crew of
Britannia of Billingsgate
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
Cast
... Bessie Bolton
... Bert Bolton
... Pearl Bolton
... Fred Bolton
... Mrs. Wigglesworth
... Harold Hogarth
... Maud
... Guidobaldi
JK
Joyce Kirby... Joan
... Westerbrook
... Gwen
... Harry
... Publicity Man
JC
Jane Cornell... Fay
... Producer
RJ
Ron Johnson... Dirt Track Rider
GK
Gus Kuhn... Dirt Track Rider
CW
Colin Watson... Dirt Track Rider
TF
Tom Farndon... Dirt Track Rider
CR
Claude Rye... Dirt Track Rider
Produced By
... Producer