Seymour Hicks Movies
Seymour Hicks began his six-decade acting career in 1887. A fine comic singer and an even better farceur, Hicks headlined the first revue show ever staged in London, 1893's Under the Clock. Before he had reached his 35th birthday, Hicks had managed several thriving music-hall and "legitimate" theatres, including the legendary Aldwych, which he founded in 1906. One year later, he made his movie debut in a 30-second tableau about his publishing activities, titled Seymour Hicks Edits 'The Tatler'. His "official" entree into films was in 1913; thereafter, he frequently co-starred on screen with his wife, Ellailine Terris, who also served as the subject of his 1939 autobiography Me and the Missus (his first book of reminiscences, Between Ourselves, was published in 1930). Hicks was the first British actor to appear in France during World War I, repeating this accomplishment during World War II -- and winning the French Croix de Guerre on both occasions. In 1922, he collaborated with cinema novice Alfred Hitchcock on the direction of Always Tell Your Wife, based on Hicks' own screenplay. Hicks made his best-remembered talkie appearance as star and scenarist of Scrooge, the 1935 remake of Hicks' 1913 silent film; also in 1935, Hicks became Sir Seymour Hicks, and his wife Lady Hicks. Sir Seymour Hicks continued appearing in films and on stage up until a year before his death at the age of 78. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1949
Roland Pertwee and his son Michael Pertwee penned the stage play The Paragon, and then Michael adapted the play for film. Curiously, the central characters in the story are father and son: a baronet, and his deceased war-hero offspring. The grief-stricken baronet builds a memorial to his son's honor--whereupon sonny boy turns up very much alive, and very much of a jerk. The drama (or rather, melodrama), arises from the father's efforts to preserve the honor of the family name. This is another of director Lance Comfort's compact, compelling film noir-ish programmers of the 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sally Gray, Stephen Murray, (more)
- 1947
When a young man from an economically depressed area of England (played by Michael Redgrave) decides that his calling is to help the beleaguered workers in his area, he takes as his symbol a sword passed down to him by an ancestor who picked it up at the Battle of Peterloo in 1819, where it had been used against workers. Beginning as an idealistic defender of the oppressed workers, he rises to power in the Parliament, where he discovers that power corrupts and he becomes the very type of politician he had originally set out to displace. Sometimes slow-moving, this is an interesting look into the reasons why the Labor and the Conservative factions are at loggerheads with each other in Great Britain. Very loosely based on labor leader Ramsay MacDonald's climb to power, the story was adapted by Howard Spring and is a combination of both fact and fiction. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Rosamund John, (more)
- 1941
Kisses for Breakfast is a dumbed-down remake of the 1930 marital comedy The Matrimonial Bed, itself based on a British stage play by Seymour Hicks-which in turn was adapted from a French farce by Yves Mirande and Andre Mouzey-Eon. With that pedigree, it's amazing that this frenetic 1941 slapsticker isn't better than it is, but it just isn't, that's all. Knocked out during a fight, Rodney Trask (Dennis Morgan) awakens with amnesia, totally unaware that he's just married Juliet Marsden (Shirley Ross). His only clue to his identity is an address found in his coat pocket, which leads him to the South Carolina home of Juliet's cousin Laura Anders (Janet Wyatt). A year passes, during which Rodney straightens out Laura's financial problems and wins her love. After their marriage, Rodney and Laura decide to visit her northern relatives-including, naturally, wife number one, Juliet, who has come to believe that Rodney is dead and is about to take a new husband. What follows is a endless series of silly slapstick gags, with poor Juliet receiving a great deal of unwarranted punishment at the hands of the capricious Laura. The mess eventually straightens itself out, by which time both heroines have thorougly alienated the audience. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyatt, (more)
- 1940
Released in America as Haunted Honeymoon, this droll British comedy-mystery stars Hollywood's Robert Montgomery as Dorothy L. Sayers' erudite amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. Upon marrying mystery writer Harriet Vane (Constance Cummings), Lord Peter swears off crime-solving and embarks upon his honeymoon. Alas, the couple is soon involved in yet another murder, and is forced by circumstances to piece together the clues themselves-and to avoid being knocked off by the murderer. Filmed at MGM's Elstree facilities, Busman's Honeymoon benefits from a strong "home-grown" supporting cast, including Leslie Banks and Robert Newton. The film was directed by the talented Arthur B. Woods, unfortunately an early casualty of WW2. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Constance Cummings, (more)
- 1940
Lambeth Walk is the film version of the evergreen West End musical Me and My Girl, which was still being successfully revived into the 1980s. The enormously popular music-hall entertainer Lupino Lane repeats his stage characterization as Bill, a diffident working-class cockney who finds himself heir to a title and a vast estate. Though he now has his pick of England's most gorgeous debutantes, Bill remains faithful to his blue-collar girlfriend Sally (Sally Gray). The film's new title was designed to cash in on a then-popular dance craze, which is performed by the high-kicking Lupino Lane in the course of events. In America, Lambeth Walk was distributed by MGM, whose British Elstree Studios facilities had put the film together in the first place. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lupino Lane, Sally Gray, (more)
- 1940
In this patriotic drama, the courage of a German pastor is presented as he makes a public stand against Nazi philosophies and actions. Unfortunately, the outspoken fellow is sent to a concentration camp where he is beaten and tortured. Still he manages to escape and give one final sermon to his congregation before he is gunned down. The story is based on an actual event. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wilfred Lawson, Nova Pilbeam, (more)
- 1939
In this gentle comedy, an aristocratic English fellow is not happy to be betrothed to a brewery heiress. One day he goes to a circus and ends up with a lively human cannonball in his life. He immediately falls for the daring young performer and they end up eloping and going to Paris to live out the rest of their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Griffith Jones, Anna Lee, (more)
- 1937
This British comedy tells the tale of the king of Ruritania who finds a drunken look-a-like to replace him while he takes a much needed vacation. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1936
Adapted from a stage play by Maurice Braddell, It's You I Want is a vehicle for veteran scene-stealer Sir Seymour Hicks. The star is cast as Victor Delaney, a middle-aged roue who decides to take a break from girl-chasing. This proves impossible when Delaney's bachelor flat becomes a veritable pit-stop for cheating husbands, vengeful wives and dizzy mistresses. Time after time, Delaney is caught in innocent but compromising situations, paying off in loud and long laughter from the audience. Director Ralph Ince does little to "cinematize" his material; it's essentially the original stage play on the original set with most of the original cast. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Marie Lohr, (more)
- 1936
The old H. V. Esmond stage play Eliza Comes to Stay proved a perfect vehicle for British screen sweetheart Betty Balfour. Wearing huge, owlish glasses, Balfour plays orphaned Eliza Vandan, who finds herself the ward of wealthy Sandy Verrall (Seymour Hicks). This comes as quite a jolt to old man Verrall, who'd been led to believe that Eliza was a little baby. Once the two protagonists have adjusted to one another, Eliza and Verrall find that they can't live without each other. Originally set during WWI, Eliza Comes to Stay has been updated to the 1930s, allowing for a brief nightclub number featuring popular entertainers Diana Ward and Nelson Keys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Betty Balfour, Seymour Hicks, (more)
- 1935
His Hollywood career a thing of the past, director Herbert Brenon returned to his native England in 1934, where he continued making films until his retirement in 1940. Brenon's first project upon his arrival in London was the feature-length documentary Royal Cavalcade. Covering a 25-year period, the film is an encapsulation of the comings and goings of the British empire since the 1910 coronation of King George V. The highlights, drawn from the newsreel files of several English and European archives, include Captain Scott's arrival at the South Pole (and the tragic aftermath), the First World War, the Roaring 20s, and the Depression. Of special interest to show-biz buffs is the footage of the first Royal Command Performance at the Palace in 1911, featuring such matchless performers as Anna Pavlova and George Robey. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1935
In this comedy, a pickle magnate becomes an amnesiac following a train crash. He subsequently opens a beauty salon and ends up marrying a beautician. The pickle king's wife has also remarried as she believes her first husband dead. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Starring Seymour Hicks as the title character, Scrooge is a faithful adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol about a heartless miser who discovers the true meaning of Christmas when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve. Hicks co-wrote the screenplay to this film, which is a thoroughly entertaining and effective retelling of a familiar story ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Donald Calthrop, (more)
- 1935
In this romantic comedy, an aged wine maker ignores his sons' disapproval and marries a much younger woman. The angered sons then do all they can to destroy the relationship. They nearly succeed when they inform her that her hubby, whom she thought was 45, is really 62 years old. Angered by his lie, she leaves. Fortunately, the husband's granddaughter gets involved and persuades her to return. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Claire Luce, (more)
- 1934
This fairly amusing British monster movie concerns a professor (Seymour Hicks) and a young reporter (Frederick Peisley) searching for the Loch Ness monster. There's romance between Peisley and the professor's charming daughter Maggie (Rosamund John), a good deal of comedy, and a final confrontation with the creature itself. Some sources claim that the monster was really an iguana or even a plucked chicken. Future filmmaker David Lean edited this obscure but entertaining oddity. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- 1932
In this romantic comedy, an impoverished gambler falls in love with a coquette playing hard-to-get. The fellow's luck changes when he is mistaken for a prominent banker. Although, now enjoying the highlife-thanks to the error, he still cannot get the girl. Instead, he decides to run to the Riviera with her pretty maid. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Betty Stockfeld, (more)
- 1931
In this comedy, a charming elderly gentleman, a former famous thespian, still finds himself a ladies man. Unfortunately, he is disturbed to discover that his latest conquest is engaged to his son. When the woman's father learns of this he angrily confronts the old actor who then must concoct an elaborate plan to get rid of her without letting her know that he is her betrothed's father. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Margot Grahame, (more)
- 1931
In this drama, one of the earlier British films, a man attempts to be near the woman he loves. Unfortunately, she is married. To get closer to her, the fellow becomes her husband's valet. Soon he blackmails the husband into to promoting him to private secretary. Throughout it all, he makes continual passes at the loyal wife who refuses to cheat upon her beloved husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Margot Grahame, (more)
- 1930
Whatever rapport comedian Frank Fay enjoyed with Broadway audiences invariably evaporated when he appeared on film. In The Matrimonial Bed, Fay is his usual overbearing self as Adolphe, a small-town husband who is rendered an amnesiac in a train crash. Five years pass, during which time Adolphe marries Southern belle Sylvaine (Lilyan Tashman). In the meantime, Wife Number One Juliette (Florence Eldridge), believing her husband dead, has also remarried, to Gustave (James Gleason). One afternoon, she walks by a neighborhood barbershop, where Adolphe is now working -- and it isn't hard to guess what happens next. The fact that Frank Fay and director Michael Curtiz were constitutionally incapable of getting along undoubtedly hurt the overall effectiveness of this otherwise passable farce. Matrimonial Bed was remade in 1941 as Kisses for Breakfast, where it was frankly much funnier; on the other hand, the earlier film does contain a surprising amount of "gay" humor which still elicits chuckles when seen today. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Frank Fay, Lilyan Tashman, (more)
- 1930
In this British comedy, an early talkie, a philandering wife plays around with her lover while her equally philandering husband plays with his. When she and her lover decide to get physically involved, he takes her to his flat. Unfortunately, he accidentally gives her sleeping powder and she is forced to spend the night. Suddenly her husband appears to get some advice from the fellow. He has no idea that his wife is there. Romantic mayhem ensues until the married couple has a blissful reconciliation. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Seymour Hicks, Edna Best, (more)
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