A Review of London Town (Rank,1946) - 95 minutes version
By Martin Marshall
[webmaster: The SilverClover HomeZone
http://www.silverclover.free-online.co.uk]
Intended to demonstrate British capability in movie musical
production, the immediate post-war production of London Town
hardly measured up ... a Curate's Egg - at best -
artistically and a disaster financially. The plot? ... a 'provincial'
comic (Sid Field) arrives in London, accompanied by his young
daughter (Petula Clark), not to star in a prestige revue as
presumed but to understudy the leading comic .. and more 'study'
than understudy too! Really no more than an 'insurance policy'
against the egotistical behaviour of the comic lead (Sonnie Hale),
the devious plans of his daughter eventually bear fruit ...and
Field gets his chance. The rest ...well you can guess!
Key American imports were brought in by Rank, supposedly to
guarantee success - the director Wesley Ruggles (though hardly a
'musical' director even at his peak in the US some years earlier),
and more tellingly the songwriters Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van
Heusen, who did provide a raft of pleasant if not outstanding
songs performed throughout the scenario. The opening lullaby 'You
Can't Keep a Good Dreamer Down', sung by Field to Clark in a high
pitched and untrained, though not unpleasant, voice possessed a
certain charm; and the rousing sing-along 'Any Way the Wind Blows'
staged on a riverboat trip through locks along the Thames was
delightfully filmed on location ..and came across very naturally
- in marked contrast with some crude back projection elsewhere,
particularly a tandem bike trip 'back to town' which is hard to
believe fooled anyone .. even in 1946!
The remaining songs were staged as production numbers in the
stage revue in question ... and a number of deficiencies are very
apparent. 1: many of the performances were very half hearted in
execution, perhaps partly the 'British reserve' coming into play
and perhaps also a lack of experience in technique by the
performers themselves; 2: the orchestrations tended to mimic the
US big-band vocal style of the war years ... the 'do do do wahs
..et al' combine this with the anemic delivery and the cringe
factor becomes all too apparent; and 3: much of the staging is
very disjointed, sudden shifts in musical tempo, setting and
performers are rather crudely bridged - a curtain swish or a
blackout and a very jarring effect. Three major production
numbers and a finale were staged ... looking at these in turn
....
'My Heart Goes Crazy' (the song which became the title of the
abridged US release of the film) begins with Tessie O'Shea as a
flower seller. Playing no part in the film's plotline .. at least
Ms O'Shea could hardly be described as anemic in performance.
Imagine the face of Charlotte Greenwood, the body of Sophie
Tucker and the subtlety of Ethel Merman .. this combination is
Tessie O'Shea. The number progressed with stunning red hair of
Kay Kendall and a touch of romance but was hampered towards the
close with some flouncy dancers and a sharp cutaway (just as you
think some full blooded terspsichore may break out) and a very
sudden ending. Next up the song 'So Do I' - and very ironically,
as arguably the best original song in the score, the staging is
sadly a total mess .. initially set as a very false stage 'lake
scene', orchestration and settings veer violently in tempo, the 'American
jive song' is painful and totally at odds with the 'nice' British
chorus and the Tessie 'comedy' climaxes in a very forced 'dunking'.
Fortunately the third production number 'The 'Ampstead Way' is
much better (well the first two thirds at least!).
Perhaps 'inspired' by the 'Lambeth Walk', and it's very doubtful
the songwriter went anywhere near the 'heath', 'The 'Amstead Way'
starts rather effectively against a multi layer backdrop .. as
performed by Field and Kendall. Interpolated into the number are
a series of favourite 'cockney' songs .. and here the
performances become really full blooded ..especially when Tessie
O'Shea comes into shot. Kendall's background .. her family had
music hall routes ... also was a bonus regarding this style.
Rather neatly the number then included a charming 'marionette
dance' which again was well staged ... from this point however we
are on the downward slide again. We now take the Amstead Way into
totally unsuitable glamour territory ... though the set looks
incredibly lavish, the tipsy staggering of Field amongst the 'upper
set' is both pointless and unfunny ... and as for the drummer's 'talk
song' describing the steps of the dance ...well it was probably
considered hip in '46... over 50 years on - it's definitely time
for 'hip replacement' - almost certainly the most uncomfortable
couple of minutes in the whole film to sit though!
The musical finale to the film attempts to reprise the score in
as lavish a setting as possible. Witness the giant piano and
multiple black-tie attired 'pianists' - trying looking at an
early sound Universal picture for the inspiration behind this!
You only need an original idea! It does not have to be your own
original idea of course! Some flouncing chorus girls, a 'sub-Joe
Pasternak' sea of violinists, the 'doo-wah wah' backing singers
and Field and Kendall trying to be 'American society' complete
the picture!
What of the non-musical aspects of the picture? Well under the
watchful eye of Joan Bridge, Technicolor's British representative
of the time, the three-strip colour is certainly as striking as
its American counterparts - the restoration certainly sparkles. A
host of support performers make their mark .. as they often do in
most musicals. Of the lead performers, Petula Clark certainly
comes across as very natural - not the stage school child star at
all - and it is hardly surprising she made it to adult stardom.
Interestingly neither she nor Sonnie Hale, though both musical
performers, got a song to sing! For Kay Kendall, although looking
striking as the leading lady of the revue, was provided with
little to do so far as the plotline was concerned .. her glory
days were still to come .. in 'Genevieve' and 'Les Girls' amongst
other movies . though she was to die tragically young. Leading
man stage comedian Sid Field came across fairly well as a natural
movie actor .. perhaps surprisingly! The film did preserve a
couple of his famous stage comedy routines as part of the revue
on show. Aided by the ever reliable, and future Norman Wisdom
cohort, Jerry Desmonde - how funny you find these probably
depends on whether you are a Sid Field fan or not (many are/were
including one Tony Hancock). The most interesting feature of
these sketches to this reviewer is the outwardly 'camp
performance' given .. maybe one of the first instances of this in
the comedy mainstream. Sadly Field would be dead within a few
years.
Could a British director have delivered a better product?
Supposedly on Field's insistence an American director was a
necessity for success - no British director could handle a
musical. Certainly Victor Saville could handle musicals .. his
Jessie Matthews pictures of the 30s were not only her most
successful but had a real style in production. By the mid 40s
however he was in Hollywood and on the evidence of the recent ho-hum
Columbia-Rita Hayworth picture 'Tonight and Every Night' was
perhaps past his best. Other possibilities .. well it is unlikely
the most stylish British director of colour films of the period
Michael Powell would have been attracted to the fare of London
Town, a better bet (and indeed someone I would have liked to helm
the project) might have been Alberto Cavalcanti, who had
directed the 1944 Ealing music hall stylish classic 'Champagne
Charlie' starring Stanley Holloway and Tommy Trinder. Of the more
'journeyman' directors about - a good bet might have been Val
Guest (actually part of the scripting team of London Town) who
was very versatile so far as genres were concerned (much like J
Lee Thompson later). He had handled some Arthur Askey comedy-musicals
and the successful 'I'll Be Your Sweetheart' the year before (for
Gainsborough Pictures).
The Aftermath. What damage was done? After 'London Town' it could
certainly be argued the traditional musical was exclusively the
domain of Hollywood, much like westerns. British companies
remained very tentative in this area, really until the advent of
the 60s - when all things British became the fashion. However
this is not to suggest all film musical forms were 'no go areas'.
Only a year later Anna Neagle (not for the first .. or last ..time)
would be flying the flag with the 'Mayfair comedies with music'
starting with 'The Courtneys of Curzon Street' and the Neagle/Michael
Wilding dance team was born. In 1948 Michael Powell turned 'musical'
with the stylish ballet classic 'The Red Shoes' ... and Britain
was indeed up and running again musically ... in its own style.
The 50s were (occasionally) peppered with operettas, biopics and
star vehicles for performers with musical abilities and there
were also the comedies with musical numbers. When film making on
its own terms (rather than trying to copy Hollywood) the British
industry could make pleasant music.
A final comment on 'London Town'? Marks out of 10 ...... maybe 4.5.
Review and Comments:
Martin Marshall .. webmaster: The SilverClover HomeZone
http://www.silverclover.free-online.co.uk.