THE SHOW GOES ON [1937 / 2020] Blu-ray] [UK Release]
She was a small town girl . . . Given a chance in a million!
Beloved by the British public for her string of hit pre-war films, Gracie Fields’ Lancastrian earthiness, impish humour and memorable songs have endeared her to many generations of fans. ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ sees Gracie Fields starring opposite Owen Nares and John Stuart in this emotional, semi-autobiographical musical romance. It is presented here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio.
Sally Lee, an erstwhile mill girl who fancies her chances on the stage, and tries her luck in London but ends up busking. When Sally Lee is spotted by Martin Fraser [Owen Nares], a composer of sentimental songs and so Sally Lee’s career takes an unexpected turn!
Cast: Gracie Fields, Owen Nares, John Stuart, Horace Hodges, Edward Rigby, Amy Veness, Arthur Sinclair, Cyril Ritchard, Jack Hobbs, Dennis Arundell, Billy Merson, Frederick Leister, Patrick Barr, Nina Vanna, Tom Payne, Aubrey Dexter, Carl Randall, Fred Hutchings, Queenie Leonard, Isobel Scaife, Elsie Wagstaff, Sybil Grove, Florence Harwood, Frank Atkinson (uncredited), Warren Earl Fisk (uncredited), Walter Fitzgerald (uncredited), Lawrence Hanray (uncredited), Mike Johnson (uncredited), Andreas Malandrinos (uncredited) and Jack Vyvyan (uncredited)
Director: Basil Dean
Producer: Basil Dean
Screenplay: Basil Dean (story), Anthony Kimmins (dialogue/ scenario) and Austin Melford (dialogue/ scenario)
Composer: Ernest Irving (uncredited)
Cinematography: Jan Stallich (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 89 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Associated Talking Pictures / Network
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ [1937] follows Sally Scowcroft [Gracie Fields], a Lancashire mill girl. After performing in her local pantomime, Sally Scowcroft heads off to London to become a star. In London, she meets Martin Fraser [Owen Nares] a down-on-his-luck songwriter who is looking for a singer to perform his songs. Martin Fraser decides to make Sally Scowcroft a star and thrusts her into fame and fortune. ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ returns to the usual formula for a Gracie Fields film in that it appears as a sort of Cinderella story. The difference with ‘THE SHOW GOES ON,’ compared to Gracie Gilds other film ‘SALLY IN OUR ALLEY’ is that it is more semi-autobiographical to the Gracie Fields’ own story. The film is well written for the most part and has plenty of heart in it.
The film has several great moments. These moments include Sally Scowcroft's homecoming performance as well as the scene where she entertains a group of sailors with a good old song and dance. ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ does slightly suffer some of the same problems as many other Gracie Fields films in that some scenes go on for far too long and jokes that don't really land very well. However, I was expecting these issues to feature considering that many of Gracie Fields’ films have been like this. The dialogue in the film is really strong. It has plenty of wit and fun to it.
The cast for ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ is really strong. Gracie Fields gives a great performance in what would be her last film at Ealing Studio. Gracie Fields carries the film really well and has a warm and welcoming screen presence that makes her so easy to watch. John Stuart also gives a great performance as one of the better love interests in a Gracie Fields vehicle. Owen Nares as Martin Fraser also appears in the film and gives a really good performance. The rest of the supporting cast all give really good performances and get their moments to shine throughout the film, especially Amy Veness who plays the kind hearted Mrs. Scowcroft, Sally Scowcroft's Mother.
‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ is directed by Basil Dean who does a really great job with his direction follows on from the film ‘Look Up and Laugh’ as being very lively. The film ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ has a lot of energy and Basil Dean's direction helps greatly with this entertaining film. Basil Dean stages the big comedy sequences especially with great song and dance numbers that are really done well. The songs in this film are also really good and had me humming along at times.
Overall, ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ is another solid Gracie Fields vehicle, featuring Gracie Fields at the top of her game. The film obviously has flaws but they didn't really detract from my overall enjoyment of the film like I thought they would. The Cinderella story plot of this film in particular works well due to the more semi-autobiographical direction that it takes. The cast are all on good form and the direction is really solid. ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ was an unexpected delight and one of the best Gracie Fields vehicles. So all in all, ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ is well worth checking out!
THE SHOW GOES ON MUSIC TRACK LIST
A SONG IN YOUR HEART (uncredited) [Written by Harry Parr-Davies and Eddie Pola]
SMILE WHEN YOU SAY GOODBYE (uncredited) [Written by Harry Parr-Davies]
WE’LL ALL GOOD PALS TOGETHER (uncredited) [Written by Harry Parr-Davies, Will Haines and Jimmy Harper]
MY LOVE FOR YOU (uncredited) [Written by Harry Parr-Davies and Eddie Pola]
LITTLE LANCASHIRE TOWN (uncredited) [Written by Harry Parr-Davies and Jimmy Harper]
I NEVER CRIED SO MUCH IN ALL MY LIFE (uncredited) [Written by Harry Castling (uncredited), Will Haines and Jimmy Harper]
SUCCESS COCKALORUM (uncredited) [Written by Harry Parr-Davies]
THE SHOW GOES ON (uncredited) [Written by Harry Parr-Davies]
STOP AND SHOP AT THE CO-OP SHOP (uncredited) [Written by Bert Lee, Harris Weston and R.P. Weston]
STREET BAND MUSIC (uncredited) [Music by W. Wallace] [Arranged by Ernest Irving]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Associated Talking Pictures and Network presents us the film ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ with an all-new remastered from a 35mm fine grain master to give a nice 1080p black-and-white image and of course is shown in the standard 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Although the image only gives basic restoration, the image still displays some minor faults, including dirt, scratches, density fluctuations and film movement, amongst other issues. Despite this, it is still an enjoyable watch. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Associated Talking Pictures and Network brings us the film ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ with a 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio experience. Of course this film is a dialogue driven for this 1931 film and that means the audio is more than adequate for a film of this calibre, and has no real problems to report. On top of all that, the audio has been mastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack, so all the sound is focused via the speakers. It serves the film well and I found myself totally immersed in this film, which may very well have more to do with the great characters and again the razor sharp screenplay. So once again, well done Network for your sterling work.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Image Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view 58 wonderful 1080p black-and-white images for the Gracie Fields motion picture ‘THE SHOW GOES ON.’
Special Feature: ABC Theatrical Trailers [1937] [480i] [1.37:1] [4:40] With this featurette, we get to view two Associated British Cinema presentations of theatrical trailers and they include a George Formby film entitled ‘Get Fit’ and a Stanley Lupino film entitled ‘You Made Me Love You.’
Finally, ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ [1937] is quite an entertaining film and Gracie Fields shows off her talent with the film ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ and closely resembles her own rags-to-riches story. Despite the fact that it is not a perfect film, ‘THE SHOW GOES ON’ is still a very enjoyable experience and especially if you are a big fan of Gracie Fields. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
