Thunder in the City
Thunder in the City is a 1937 British drama film directed by Marion Gering and starring Edward G. Robinson, Luli Deste, Nigel Bruce and Ralph Richardson.[1]
Thunder in the City | |
---|---|
1937 Theatrical Poster | |
Directed by | Marion Gering |
Produced by | Alexander Esway (producer) Richard Vernon (assistant producer) |
Written by | Robert E. Sherwood (screenplay) & Aben Kandel (screenplay) & Ákos Tolnay (screenplay) Jack E. Jewell (scenario) Dudley Storrick (additional dialogue) |
Starring | See below |
Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
Cinematography | Alfred Gilks |
Edited by | Arthur Hilton |
Production company | Atlantic Film Company |
Distributed by | United Artists (UK) Columbia Pictures (US) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes (US) 88 minutes (UK) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Plot summary
An American salesman with radically successful methods visits England ostensibly to learn a more dignified manner of salesmanship. He is mistaken for a millionaire by a cash-poor family of noble ancestry with a stately home to sell which he can't afford to buy. But by working with them instead he finds romance and equal success in business with his old marketing techniques.
Cast
- Edward G. Robinson as Daniel "Dan" Armstrong
- Luli Deste as Lady Patricia "Pat" Graham
- Nigel Bruce as Duke of Glenavon
- Constance Collier as Duchess of Glenavon
- Ralph Richardson as Henry V. Manningdale
- Arthur Wontner as Sir Peter "Pete" Challoner
- Nancy Burne as Edna, the Singer
- Annie Esmond as Lady Challoner
- Cyril Raymond as James
- Elizabeth Inglis as Dolly
- James Carew as Mr. Snyderling
- Everley Gregg as Millie, Dan's Secretary in New York
- Donald Calthrop as Dr. Plumet, the Chemist
- Billy Bray as Bill, the Pianist
Soundtrack
Main dramatic Score by Miklos Rozsa.
- "Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 in D" (Music by Edward Elgar, words ("Land of Hope and Glory") by Arthur C. Benson)
- Billy Bray and Nancy Burne - "She Was Poor But She Was Honest"
- "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" (Traditional)
- Billy Bray and Nancy Burne - "Magnelite"
- Stockholders - "Magnelite"
- Stockholders - "Auld Lang Syne" (Scottish traditional music, lyrics by Robert Burns)
Reception
Writing for The Spectator in 1937, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review, labeling it "worst English film of the quarter". Greene criticized the special effects and its "complete ignorance - in spite of its national studio - of English life and behaviour". Conceding that the film is, after all, a fantasy, Greene complains regardless that "even a fantasy needs some relation to life".[2]
References
- BFI.org
- Greene, Graham (19 March 1937). "Pluck of the Irish/The Sequel to Second Bureau/Thunder in the City/Head Over Heels". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. Oxford University Press. pp. 138–139. ISBN 0192812866.)
External links
- Thunder in the City at IMDb
- Thunder in the City is available for free download at the Internet Archive