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Cheer Boys Cheer
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Wikipedia article
'Cheer Boys Cheer' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Nova Pilbeam, Edmund Gwenn, Jimmy O'Dea, Graham Moffatt, Moore Marriott and Peter Coke.
Plot
Edward Ironside, the head of Ironside Brewery Ltd., a modern company, tells his board of directors of his plans for expansion. Naseby, a new board member, objects, saying they should turn their efforts to improving the taste of their beer instead, but Ironside has the unquestioned support of the rest of the board. He targets an area of London served by Thomas Greenleaf and Sons, a smaller, more gently run brewery which is about to celebrate its 150th anniversary. He has purchased as many shares of the firm as possible, but Greenleaf still holds 55%. Afterward, it becomes apparent that his ruthless son John, the Director of Publicity, is really the one in charge.
Cast
* Nova Pilbeam as Margaret Greenleaf
* Edmund Gwenn as Edward Ironside
* Jimmy O'Dea as Matt Boyle
* Moore Marriott as Geordie
* Graham Moffatt as Albert Baldwin
* C. V. France as Tom Greenleaf
* Peter Coke as John Ironside
* Alexander Knox as Saunders
* Ivor Barnard as Naseby
* Walter Forde as Pianist at Wedding
* James Knight as Ironside's Chauffeur
* Hay Plumb as Greenleaf Employee
* Charles Rolfe as Ironside Thug
* Harry Terry as Brewery Worker
* Jean Webster-Brough as Maggie
Production
The film was made by Ealing Studios, roughly a year after Michael Balcon had taken over from Basil Dean as head of production. It was released shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, the last Ealing film to be released in peacetime.
Reception
The film's representation of the differing management styles of the Ironside and Greenleaf companies has traditionally been seen as an analogy for Nazi Germany and the United Kingdom in the lead-up to the outbreak of war.Perry p.42-43
The film has also come to be seen as a precursor of the later "Ealing Comedies", sharing a similar theme of big versus small, traditional versus modern with the later films which began with 'Hue and Cry' in 1947.
References
Bibliography
* Perry, George. 'Forever Ealing: A Celebration of the Great British Film Studio'. Pavilion, 1981.
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