Hello, Sweetheart

Hello, Sweetheart
Claude Hulbert and Nancy O'Neil in the film[1]
Directed byMonty Banks
Written by
Based onThe Butter and Egg Man by George S. Kaufman
Produced byIrving Asher
Starring
CinematographyBasil Emmott
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Brothers
Release date
  • June 1935 (1935-06)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Hello, Sweetheart is a lost 1935 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Claude Hulbert, Gregory Ratoff and Jane Carr.[2][3] It was written by Brock Williams based on the play The Butter and Egg Man by George S. Kaufman. The film was made by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers at the company's Teddington Studios.[4]

Preservation status

The British Film Institute has classed Hello, Sweetheart as a lost film.[5] Its National Archive holds a collection of stills but no film or video materials.[2]

Plot

Dim poultry farmer Henry Pennyfeather is persuaded to buy a 49% stake in the financing of a film, but is swindled out of his money. He gets his cash back by staging the unfinished film as a burlesque show.[6]

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A good type of farce. The stars have very suitable parts and the picture has considerable light entertainment value, although there is rather too much of the film within the film."[7]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Satirical comedy, with a threadbare theme, far too dependent on dialogue to make a hit with the masses, and too obvious to brighten the lives of the highbrows. ... Although Claude Hulbert amuses at times as Henry, and Gregory Ratoff is very good as Lewis, both find themselves handicapped by the scrappy, artless story. ... This satirical comedy fails to register because it is not good screen material. The Americans have tried repeatedly to guy the film industry, make good-numoured fun of its foibles and ballyhoo, but even with their vast resources seldom have they been successful. To attempt the same thing here is asking for trouble, and Teddington is not Hollywood. As entertainment the film is disappointing."[6]

The Daily Film Renter wrote: "Set mainly in studio, story yields many glimpses of actual production, although these scenes are intentionally mostly burlesque. Chief attractions are the well-contrasted performances of Hulbert and Ratoff, with humour mainly verbal. Most audiences will find sound entertainment in the acting and quick changes of plot and counterplot."[8]

Picturegoer wrote: "`Claude Hulbert is occasionally amusing as the 'silly ass' and Gregory Ratoff good as the Producer, but both are starved of material. There is an overplus of dialogue."[9]

Picture Show wrote: "Hilarious situations, bright dialogue and excellent acting make it one of the brighter British pictures."[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Hello, Sweetheart". Picture Show. 34 (861): 19. 2 November 1935. ProQuest 1880314861.
  2. ^ a b "Hello, Sweetheart". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  3. ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | Hello, Sweetheart (1935)". BFI. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  4. ^ Wood, Linda (1986). British Films, 1927–1939 (PDF). British Film Institute. p. 86. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2022.
  5. ^ Eyles, Allen; Meeker, David, eds. (1992). "Hello, Sweetheart". Missing Believed Lost: The Great British Film Search. British Film Institute. p. 60. ISBN 0851703062.
  6. ^ a b "Hello, Sweetheart". Kine Weekly. 219 (1467): 30. 30 May 1935. ProQuest 2338265062.
  7. ^ "Hello, Sweetheart". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 2 (13): 70. 1 January 1935. ProQuest 1305797196.
  8. ^ "Hello, Sweetheart". The Daily Film Renter (2561): 4. 25 May 1935. ProQuest 2826323579.
  9. ^ "Hello, Sweetheart". Picturegoer. 5: 34. 1 October 1935.
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