ELSTREE CALLING 1930: Cecily Courtneidge

"I've Fallen in Love" is far and away the best thing in the film. Cecily Courtneidge's talent and vitality sparkle across the years. Hard to believe this clip is nearly 80 years old. With the Adelphi Girls in Claude Friese-Greene colour.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Elstree
• Calling
• Cecily
• Courtneidge
• Adelphi
• Girls

[swallin19]

Some people query the colour used , and it was French Pathe Color system, the hand stencilled contrast mapped system, although Claude Friese Green was employed by Pathe as colour Expert.on the film. His own system was not used and neither was Dufaycolour, which came later. Elstree feel it was worth adding colour to already shot numbers, which the system allowed for, rather like colorisation these days.

The best number from the film by far.......superb, if a period piece of course.

[BRENDANGCARROLL]

Re the title: "Elstree Calling" was Britain's answer to the early sound musicals in Hollywood (e.g. Paramount on Parade, Fox Movietone Follies etc).

[fivnten]

It's a reference to the BBC radio of the time. The announcer would say "This is London calling"  There was a revue entitled "London Calling" written by Noel Coward in 1923 in which Gertrude Lawrence introduced the song "Parisian Pierrot".

[jdj32433]

Elstree is the British equivalent of Hollywood. Elstree Studios.

[rego21a]

This is typical of the British music hall tradition.

[davlock2]

oh terrific! I think that "Elstree Calling" was a series of films made at Elstree Film Studios [in Hertfordshire UK near London] in the 1930s

[busternuckles]

What does "Elstree Calling" mean?

[twentiesDOLL12213]

Lyrics. Pretty risque for 1930...

[mic33george]

Do you mean the fly that landed on the camera lens all those years ago,or the somewhat hard to decipher lyrics?

[twentiesDOLL12213]

Anybody notice what came out of her mouth?