Bitter Sweet (1933 film)

Bitter Sweet is a British musical romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and released by United Artists in 1933. It was the first film adaptation of Noël Coward's 1929 operetta Bitter Sweet. It starred Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravey, with Ivy St. Helier reviving her stage role as Manon. It was made at Elstree Studios and was part of a boom in operetta films during the 1930s.

Bitter Sweet
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHerbert Wilcox
Produced byHerbert Wilcox
Written byPlay:
Noël Coward
Screenplay:
Lydia Hayward
Monckton Hoffe
Herbert Wilcox
StarringAnna Neagle
Fernand Gravey
Esme Percy
Clifford Heatherley
Ivy St. Helier
Music byRoy Robertson
CinematographyFreddie Young
Edited byMichael Hankinson
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
31 August 1933 (1933-08-31)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office£500,000[1]

It tells the story of Sarah Linden's romance. Sarah, now a gray-haired old woman, tells her story to a girl who is on the eve of marrying an obnoxious man when she is really in love with a musician.[2]

The operetta was remade in 1940 as a film of the same name with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy; however, it was less faithful to the original story than the less censored 1933 version.[3]

Cast

Reception

According to Wilcox the film made no profits. He later wrote "it must have been my fault, for surely a better musical play has never been written... perhaps, however, the story is rather too sad for a film."[4]

References
  1. Elstree Versus Hollywood Film Citadel Challenged By Recent British Productions The Times of India (1861-current) [New Delhi, India] 18 November 1933: pg 18.
  2. Hall, Mordaunt (24 August 1933). "Movie Review - Bitter Sweet - Many Stars of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Firmament In the Film Version of "Dinner at Eight"". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  3. "Bitter Sweet (1940)". Jeanettemacdonaldandnelsoneddy.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  4. Herbert Wilcox, Twenty Five Thousand Sunsets, 1967 p 96


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