Elstree Calling

Elstree Calling is the original title of an English feature film from the year 1930. It is a revue film, which consists of individual musical skits and a connecting frame story. The reason for this film was the introduction of sound. Many movie studios used this for compilation films with mostly musical and comedic focus to introduce the new possibilities of cinema to the public and to promote the commercialization of sound film. The production company British International Pictures (BIP ) undertook their contract directors to contribute to this review. The four directors who were filming sequences under the overall guidance of the director Adrian Brunel, was also Alfred Hitchcock. A German title has not the movie so far; translated, the title means "This is Elstree ".

Action

The film consists of a revue of 19 numbers, comedy sketches, musical performances and dance performances. These are strung together in the form of a performance show, which is televised. The frame story shows, among other things, a family who tinkers with their TV to follow the show on the screen.

Background

  • Elstree is a village north of London. This is similar to the Pinewood village or the London Borough of Ealing - perhaps comparable to Hollywood or Babelsberg - a synonym for a part of the (in this case British ) become film industry because there is a large studio complex in nearby Borehamwood.
  • The Revue shown in the film is in the tradition of English music halls.
  • Elstree Calling contains some color sequences.
  • Alfred Hitchcock's contribution consisted in turning some scenes for the overall story.
  • Gordon Harker, who plays the father, who with the family wants to watch the show on TV, also starred in the Hitchcock films The World Champion, The Farmer's Wife and Champagne supporting roles.
  • John Longden played out in Elstree Calling roles in Hitchcock films extortion, Juno and the Paycock and until the finish.
  • Donald Calthrop played out in Elstree Calling roles in Hitchcock films extortion, Juno and the Paycock and murder - Sir John intervenes!
  • From Elstree Calling eleven foreign-language versions were filmed.

Reviews

While Elstree Calling as a Hitchcock film is meaningless - Hitchcock himself called the film in an interview with François Truffaut in Mr. Hitchcock, how did you do that? " Devoid of interest" - it is interesting as a document of musical shows in the tradition of vaudeville and English music halls. Frank Cullen, founder of the American Vaudeville Museum, editor of Vaudeville Times Quarterly and author of Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers the film calls a " wonderful revue film for all those who are able, other epochs than their own to estimate "and emphasizes the strength of the film lies " in the properties of the occurring variety stars'. "

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