Between 1931 and 1939, Gracie Fields made eleven British features, which saw her rise from popular music hall performer to the highest paid film star in the country. The seven films in this box set outline that career trajectory nicely, from the primitive but culturally significant Sally In Our Alley (1931) — Gracie’s debut film, which also provided her with a life-long theme song — to The Show Goes On (1937), a backstage ’autobiopic’ of sorts that takes itself rather seriously.
In between are the livelier vehicles, notably Looking on the Bright Side (1931) — also blessed with a catchy theme song — and Love, Life and Laughter (1934), a heavily Pygmalion-esque musical comedy that shows Gracie could well have pulled off a creditable, if slightly less-than-attractive Eliza Doolittle, should the action of Shaw’s play have been transferred to north west England.
The true gem here, though, is Sing As We Go (1934), a J.B. Priestley-scripted tale of an unemployed Lancashire mill girl finding work and laughter in Blackpool. Sing stands as a classic of thirties British cinema in its own right: its spirited but never patronising portrayal of working class regionalism prefigures the ‘kitchen sink’ explosion by a generation, yet it manages to convey an authentic sense of troubled industrial relations whilst moving briskly from comic sketch to lively song. (The final image of Gracie leading an army of workers back to the mill should strike a chord in every sentimental socialist’s heart!) Also worthy of note are director Basil Dean’s inventive set pieces during the extended Blackpool Pleasure Beach section; these remind us, quite strikingly, that early sound cinema wasn’t all static camerawork and wonky rear projection.
Regardless of the merits of her individual films, however, Gracie Fields’ star quality always shines through. Her strident but warm-hearted heroines are the clear precursors to the bolshy matrons we still enjoy watching in Coronation Street. To say that working class audiences related to her is a vast understatement – she was one of the family, a favourite, blunt-talking auntie who could deliver a joke and belt out a tune. In reality, ‘our Gracie’ may have been a highly-paid movie star, but Britain owed her a lot: she lit up the thirties like a northern floodlight.
A collection of seven Gracie Fields films. Features Sally In Our Alley (Maurice Elvey, 1931), Looking on the Bright Side (Graham Cutts & Basil Dean, 1932), Love, Life & Laughter (Maurice Elvey, 1934), Sing As We Go (Basil Dean, 1934), Look Up and Laugh (Basil Dean, 1935), Queen of Hearts (Monty Banks, 1936) and The Show Goes On (Basil Dean, 1937).
Born in Rochdale, Gracie Fields was a comedienne and singer who charmed English Music Hall audiences with her Northern Lass persona before becoming a top box-office draw at the cinema and Britain’s highest paid actress during the 1930s. Her film career spanned 15 years and many of her best performances are seen in the films in this collection.
In Love, Life & Laughter, a modern interpretation of the romance between Nell Gwyn and Charles 1, Gracie plays publican’s daughter Nellie, who falls for Prince Charles of Granau, only to be let down in love when duty and ascension to the throne means he cannot continue the romance.
Sing as we Go finds Gracie out of work when the local mill closes. She heads to Blackpool to find a job where her adventures include playing cupid to her two friends, and helping to negotiate the re-opening of the mill into which she will triumphantly lead the workers back.
Sally in our Alley sees Gracie play a waitress and singer whose performances in his coffee shop have saved Sam Bilson from ruin. Sally has also taken street urchin Florrie under her wing, but is betrayed by the girl when Sally’s former sweetheart George returns, seemingly from the dead.
In Looking on the Bright Side Gracie stars as a manicurist with a promising voice, whose hairdresser’s assistant sweetheart Laurie has a gift for song. Persuaded by Jose, an actress he knows, Laurie goes to see her manager, and when Gracie performs his first published song, the chance of stardom beckons for both.
In Queen of Hearts Gracie stars as a lowly seamstress working opposite a theatre who, when returning a coat to the leading man backstage one day, gets mistaken for a rich woman willing to back the show if she has the lead in it.
Look Up and Laugh sees touring variety artist Gracie come to the rescue of her father and his fellow market stall holders when the owner of a neighbouring big store threatens to close the market and build an extension to his own premises. Matters are complicated when Grace’s brother is revealed to be madly in love with the store owner’s daughter.
Finally, The Show Goes On sees Gracie play Sally Field, a mill girl whose dream of singing on stage in London has ended with her busking on the sands instead. When a composer discovers her and takes her under his wing to perform his sentimental ballads, it’s Sally’s reinvention of them with her own unique comic talents that finally makes them a hit and rockets her to the stardom she has always longed for.
