Helter Skelter (1949 film) - Revision history

Kurt at 04:51, 14 February 2023

2023-02-14T04:51:28Z

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	~~{{EngvarB\|date=September 2013}}~~
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	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| image = Helter Skelter (1949 film).jpg		\| image = Helter Skelter (1949 film).jpg
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	[[Category:British haunted house films]]		[[Category:British haunted house films]]
	[[Category:1940s British films]]		[[Category:1940s British films]]
			[[Category:British comedy films]]

Kurt at 19:50, 12 October 2022

2022-10-12T19:50:00Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:50, 12 October 2022
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	{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2013}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2013}}
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| ~~name~~ = Helter Skelter		\| image = Helter Skelter (1949 film).jpg
	~~\| image = "Helter_Skelter"_~~(~~1949_film~~).jpg
	\| caption = Original British trade ad		\| caption = Original British trade ad
	\| director = [[Ralph Thomas]]		\| director = [[Ralph Thomas]]
	\| producer = [[Antony Darnborough]]		\| producer = [[w:Antony Darnborough]]
	\| writer = [[Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy\|Patrick Campbell]]		\| writer = [[w:Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy\|Patrick Campbell]]
	\| starring = [[David Tomlinson]]<br>[[Carol Marsh]]		\| starring = [[David Tomlinson]]<br>[[Carol Marsh]]
	\| music = [[Francis Chagrin]]		\| music = [[w:Francis Chagrin\|Francis Chagrin]]
	\| cinematography = [[Jack Asher]]		\| cinematography = [[w:Jack Asher\|Jack Asher]]
	\| editing = Bob Wilson		\| editing = Bob Wilson
	\| studio = [[Gainsborough Pictures]]		\| studio = [[w:Gainsborough Pictures\|Gainsborough Pictures]]
	\| distributor = [[General Film Distributors]]		\| distributor = [[w:General Film Distributors\|General Film Distributors]]
	\| released = {{Film date\|df=y\|1949\|08\|07}}<ref name="Art & Hue">{{cite web\|url=http://artandhue.com/shop/basil-radford-naunton-wayne/\|title= Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne \|work=Art & Hue}}</ref>		\| released = {{Film date\|df=y\|1949\|08\|07}}<ref name="Art & Hue">{{cite web\|url=http://artandhue.com/shop/basil-radford-naunton-wayne/\|title= Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne \|work=Art & Hue}}</ref>
	\| runtime = 84 minutes		\| runtime = 84 minutes
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	}}		}}

	'''''Helter Skelter''''' is a 1949 British [[romantic comedy]] film directed by [[Ralph Thomas]] and starring [[Carol Marsh]], [[David Tomlinson]] and [[Mervyn Johns]]. A radio star becomes involved with a wealthy heiress.		'''''Helter Skelter''''' is a 1949 British [[w:romantic comedy\|romantic comedy]] film directed by [[Ralph Thomas]] and starring [[Carol Marsh]], [[David Tomlinson]] and [[Mervyn Johns]]. A radio star becomes involved with a wealthy heiress.

	The recurring English comic characters [[Charters and Caldicott]] also appeared in the film.		The recurring English comic characters [[Charters and Caldicott]] also appeared in the film.

	==Plot==		==Plot==
	Susan Graham is a discontented heiress whose joint guardians are both trying to get her married to their odious nephews. On her nineteenth birthday, the five of them visit a [[nightclub]] called the Magnolia Club; also present happens to be radio star Nick Martin, whom Susan detests. When she is inadvertently seated at Martin's table directly in front of the floor show, she refuses to move, and Martin, despite his radio reputation as a fearless detective, is too intimidated by her hauteur to insist. This, however, proves to be a mixed blessing for Susan; when the evening's principal performer, a [[Ventriloquism\|ventriloquist]], comes out, she laughs so hard at his routine that she gets a bad case of the [[hiccup]]s. She attempts to cure them by getting a drink of water, but succeeds only in getting caught in the crossfire of a [[Pieing\|pie fight]].		Susan Graham is a discontented heiress whose joint guardians are both trying to get her married to their odious nephews. On her nineteenth birthday, the five of them visit a [[w:nightclub\|nightclub]] called the Magnolia Club; also present happens to be radio star Nick Martin, whom Susan detests. When she is inadvertently seated at Martin's table directly in front of the floor show, she refuses to move, and Martin, despite his radio reputation as a fearless detective, is too intimidated by her hauteur to insist. This, however, proves to be a mixed blessing for Susan; when the evening's principal performer, a [[w:Ventriloquism\|ventriloquist]], comes out, she laughs so hard at his routine that she gets a bad case of the [[w:hiccup\|hiccup]]s. She attempts to cure them by getting a drink of water, but succeeds only in getting caught in the crossfire of a [[w:Pieing\|pie fight]].

	Four days later, Susan's hiccups still haven't stopped, and her doctor recommends that her guardians take her to a certain [[haunted house]] for a good fright. On the way, they stop at a pub for directions, and Susan runs into Nick Martin again. At first, she is still chilly towards him, but then the narrator [[Deus ex machina\|shoots the two of them with Cupid's arrow]], and they immediately fall in love. Martin's overbearing mother, however, soon comes to take him away – but not before the two of them have arranged a rendezvous.		Four days later, Susan's hiccups still haven't stopped, and her doctor recommends that her guardians take her to a certain [[w:haunted house\|haunted house]] for a good fright. On the way, they stop at a pub for directions, and Susan runs into Nick Martin again. At first, she is still chilly towards him, but then the narrator [[w:Deus ex machina\|shoots the two of them with Cupid's arrow]], and they immediately fall in love. Martin's overbearing mother, however, soon comes to take him away – but not before the two of them have arranged a rendezvous.

	The plot then proceeds to the haunted house, where Susan's guardians, not believing in the ghost, have hired an actor to play the part. Susan, however, slips away to her rendezvous before he begins working; consequently, she still has the hiccups when Mrs Martin finds her and Nick trysting together. This fact doesn't amuse Mrs Martin, who apparently believes that hiccups are contagious; she forbids Susan to see her son again, and suggests that she see a [[psychiatrist]] about her problem.		The plot then proceeds to the haunted house, where Susan's guardians, not believing in the ghost, have hired an actor to play the part. Susan, however, slips away to her rendezvous before he begins working; consequently, she still has the hiccups when Mrs Martin finds her and Nick trysting together. This fact doesn't amuse Mrs Martin, who apparently believes that hiccups are contagious; she forbids Susan to see her son again, and suggests that she see a [[w:psychiatrist\|psychiatrist]] about her problem.

	The psychiatrist concludes that, because Susan got the hiccups from laughing, she can rid herself of them if she laughs that hard again. He recommends “a fellow on a [[BBC]] show called Jimmy Edwards”; Susan accordingly goes to the BBC studios, where, naturally enough, she meets Nick again. The two of them arrange a date at the Magnolia Club, ostensibly so Susan can cure her hiccups by laughing at the ventriloquist again, but really so they can gaze into each other's eyes all night. Their reverie is interrupted, however, by Mrs Martin, who shows up at the club and orders her son home. When Nick fails to stand up to her, Susan, disgusted, storms out of the club, inspiring Nick, a little too late, to develop a backbone and tell his mother off.		The psychiatrist concludes that, because Susan got the hiccups from laughing, she can rid herself of them if she laughs that hard again. He recommends “a fellow on a [[w:BBC\|BBC]] show called Jimmy Edwards”; Susan accordingly goes to the BBC studios, where, naturally enough, she meets Nick again. The two of them arrange a date at the Magnolia Club, ostensibly so Susan can cure her hiccups by laughing at the ventriloquist again, but really so they can gaze into each other's eyes all night. Their reverie is interrupted, however, by Mrs Martin, who shows up at the club and orders her son home. When Nick fails to stand up to her, Susan, disgusted, storms out of the club, inspiring Nick, a little too late, to develop a backbone and tell his mother off.

	Returning home, Susan writes a letter to Nick breaking off their relationship, but the Martin address turns out to be [[Unlisted number\|unlisted]]. She therefore returns to the BBC and leaves the letter on his microphone; on her way back out, however, she mistakes the door and ends up locking herself in a cupboard. The next morning, she turns up missing; Nick, frantic, sets all of England looking for her, and at first refuses to broadcast until she's found. Being persuaded, however, that his programme is necessary for the social stability of the nation, he returns to the BBC that evening; in the course of the broadcast, the cupboard door is opened, and Susan tumbles out, unconscious. She is, however, quickly revived – and, what is more, when she sees her guardians’ nephews (who have inadvertently locked themselves into, and then flooded, the mixing room), she bursts out laughing, thereby finally curing herself of the hiccups. She and Nick fall into each other's arms, and all ends happily.		Returning home, Susan writes a letter to Nick breaking off their relationship, but the Martin address turns out to be [[w:Unlisted number\|unlisted]]. She therefore returns to the BBC and leaves the letter on his microphone; on her way back out, however, she mistakes the door and ends up locking herself in a cupboard. The next morning, she turns up missing; Nick, frantic, sets all of England looking for her, and at first refuses to broadcast until she's found. Being persuaded, however, that his programme is necessary for the social stability of the nation, he returns to the BBC that evening; in the course of the broadcast, the cupboard door is opened, and Susan tumbles out, unconscious. She is, however, quickly revived – and, what is more, when she sees her guardians’ nephews (who have inadvertently locked themselves into, and then flooded, the mixing room), she bursts out laughing, thereby finally curing herself of the hiccups. She and Nick fall into each other's arms, and all ends happily.

	==Stand-alone segments==		==Stand-alone segments==
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	''Helter Skelter'' is as much a variety programme as it is a narrative film; it includes numerous scenes that have only the faintest connection with the plot, and are included principally for their stand-alone comedy value. The following are noteworthy:		''Helter Skelter'' is as much a variety programme as it is a narrative film; it includes numerous scenes that have only the faintest connection with the plot, and are included principally for their stand-alone comedy value. The following are noteworthy:

	*The ventriloquist routine that gives Susan the hiccups is shown in full; it features [[Ross Sisters#Biographical details\|Robert Lamouret]] and a duck puppet named Dudule.		*The ventriloquist routine that gives Susan the hiccups is shown in full; it features [[w:Ross Sisters#Biographical details\|Robert Lamouret]] and a duck puppet named Dudule.
	*While Susan is being shown her bedroom at the haunted house, the maid (Patricia Raine) has a fantasy in which she becomes a notorious 17th century courtesan, the romantic interest of both [[Oliver Cromwell]] ([[Bill Fraser]]) and [[Charles II of England\|King Charles II]] ([[Jon Pertwee]]).		*While Susan is being shown her bedroom at the haunted house, the maid (Patricia Raine) has a fantasy in which she becomes a notorious 17th century courtesan, the romantic interest of both [[Oliver Cromwell]] ([[Bill Fraser]]) and [[Charles II of England\|King Charles II]] ([[Jon Pertwee]]).
	*In a vain attempt to make Susan laugh, the psychiatrist shows her scenes from a [[Silent film\|silent-comedy]] film starring Walter Forde, involving four [[Espionage\|spies]] trying to seize an inventor's briefcase.		*In a vain attempt to make Susan laugh, the psychiatrist shows her scenes from a [[Silent film\|silent-comedy]] film starring Walter Forde, involving four [[Espionage\|spies]] trying to seize an inventor's briefcase.

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-10-12T16:49:14Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 11:49, 12 October 2022
(No difference)

en>Pablov95: /* Plot */ It's not necessary to mention actors in the summary.

2022-09-28T18:48:34Z

Plot: It's not necessary to mention actors in the summary.

New page

{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Helter Skelter
| image = "Helter_Skelter"_(1949_film).jpg
| caption = Original British trade ad
| director = [[Ralph Thomas]]
| producer = [[Antony Darnborough]]
| writer = [[Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy|Patrick Campbell]]
| starring = [[David Tomlinson]]<br>[[Carol Marsh]]
| music = [[Francis Chagrin]]
| cinematography = [[Jack Asher]]
| editing = Bob Wilson
| studio = [[Gainsborough Pictures]]
| distributor = [[General Film Distributors]]
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1949|08|07}}<ref name="Art & Hue">{{cite web|url=http://artandhue.com/shop/basil-radford-naunton-wayne/|title= Basil Radford & Naunton Wayne |work=Art & Hue}}</ref>
| runtime = 84 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =£84,000 (by 1953)<ref name="box">[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=sY1LGFNtCOEC&pg=PA232&lpg=PA232&dq=sydney+box+film+producer&source=bl&ots=F02E_WOkLo&sig=bTwtFh0NIsHllgPcTGLkovJObNU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmkt78sr_MAhXltIMKHcEYCX0Q6AEILjAD#v=onepage&q=sydney%20box%20film%20producer&f=false Andrew Spicer, ''Sydney Box'' Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 211]</ref>
}}

'''''Helter Skelter''''' is a 1949 British [[romantic comedy]] film directed by [[Ralph Thomas]] and starring [[Carol Marsh]], [[David Tomlinson]] and [[Mervyn Johns]]. A radio star becomes involved with a wealthy heiress.

The recurring English comic characters [[Charters and Caldicott]] also appeared in the film.

==Plot==
Susan Graham is a discontented heiress whose joint guardians are both trying to get her married to their odious nephews. On her nineteenth birthday, the five of them visit a [[nightclub]] called the Magnolia Club; also present happens to be radio star Nick Martin, whom Susan detests. When she is inadvertently seated at Martin's table directly in front of the floor show, she refuses to move, and Martin, despite his radio reputation as a fearless detective, is too intimidated by her hauteur to insist. This, however, proves to be a mixed blessing for Susan; when the evening's principal performer, a [[Ventriloquism|ventriloquist]], comes out, she laughs so hard at his routine that she gets a bad case of the [[hiccup]]s. She attempts to cure them by getting a drink of water, but succeeds only in getting caught in the crossfire of a [[Pieing|pie fight]].

Four days later, Susan's hiccups still haven't stopped, and her doctor recommends that her guardians take her to a certain [[haunted house]] for a good fright. On the way, they stop at a pub for directions, and Susan runs into Nick Martin again. At first, she is still chilly towards him, but then the narrator [[Deus ex machina|shoots the two of them with Cupid's arrow]], and they immediately fall in love. Martin's overbearing mother, however, soon comes to take him away – but not before the two of them have arranged a rendezvous.

The plot then proceeds to the haunted house, where Susan's guardians, not believing in the ghost, have hired an actor to play the part. Susan, however, slips away to her rendezvous before he begins working; consequently, she still has the hiccups when Mrs Martin finds her and Nick trysting together. This fact doesn't amuse Mrs Martin, who apparently believes that hiccups are contagious; she forbids Susan to see her son again, and suggests that she see a [[psychiatrist]] about her problem.

The psychiatrist concludes that, because Susan got the hiccups from laughing, she can rid herself of them if she laughs that hard again. He recommends “a fellow on a [[BBC]] show called Jimmy Edwards”; Susan accordingly goes to the BBC studios, where, naturally enough, she meets Nick again. The two of them arrange a date at the Magnolia Club, ostensibly so Susan can cure her hiccups by laughing at the ventriloquist again, but really so they can gaze into each other's eyes all night. Their reverie is interrupted, however, by Mrs Martin, who shows up at the club and orders her son home. When Nick fails to stand up to her, Susan, disgusted, storms out of the club, inspiring Nick, a little too late, to develop a backbone and tell his mother off.

Returning home, Susan writes a letter to Nick breaking off their relationship, but the Martin address turns out to be [[Unlisted number|unlisted]]. She therefore returns to the BBC and leaves the letter on his microphone; on her way back out, however, she mistakes the door and ends up locking herself in a cupboard. The next morning, she turns up missing; Nick, frantic, sets all of England looking for her, and at first refuses to broadcast until she's found. Being persuaded, however, that his programme is necessary for the social stability of the nation, he returns to the BBC that evening; in the course of the broadcast, the cupboard door is opened, and Susan tumbles out, unconscious. She is, however, quickly revived – and, what is more, when she sees her guardians’ nephews (who have inadvertently locked themselves into, and then flooded, the mixing room), she bursts out laughing, thereby finally curing herself of the hiccups. She and Nick fall into each other's arms, and all ends happily.

==Stand-alone segments==

''Helter Skelter'' is as much a variety programme as it is a narrative film; it includes numerous scenes that have only the faintest connection with the plot, and are included principally for their stand-alone comedy value. The following are noteworthy:

*The ventriloquist routine that gives Susan the hiccups is shown in full; it features [[Ross Sisters#Biographical details|Robert Lamouret]] and a duck puppet named Dudule.
*While Susan is being shown her bedroom at the haunted house, the maid (Patricia Raine) has a fantasy in which she becomes a notorious 17th century courtesan, the romantic interest of both [[Oliver Cromwell]] ([[Bill Fraser]]) and [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] ([[Jon Pertwee]]).
*In a vain attempt to make Susan laugh, the psychiatrist shows her scenes from a [[Silent film|silent-comedy]] film starring Walter Forde, involving four [[Espionage|spies]] trying to seize an inventor's briefcase.
*During Susan's first trip to the BBC, [[Terry-Thomas]] is shown as a frantic disc jockey whose assistant has broken the record he was supposed to play; in desperation, he attempts to sing the song himself, despite sounding nothing like the original recording artist. (This would later become a staple routine of Thomas's, known as the "Technical Hitch" sketch.)

==Cast==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Carol Marsh]] as Susan Graham
* [[David Tomlinson]] as Nick Martin
* [[Mervyn Johns]] as Ernest Bennett
* [[Peter Hammond (actor)|Peter Hammond]] as Spencer Stone
* [[Richard Hearne]] as Professor Pastry
* [[Peter Haddon]] as Major Basil Beagle
* [[Geoffrey Sumner]] as Humphrey Beagle
* [[Jon Pertwee]] as Headwaiter / Charles II
* [[Zena Marshall]] as Giselle
* [[Terry-Thomas]] as Himself
* [[Jimmy Edwards]] as Dr. James Edwards
* [[Colin Gordon]] as Chadbeater Longwick
* [[Judith Furse]] as Mrs. Martin
* [[Edmund Willard]] as Ezekial
* [[Harry Secombe]] as Alf (uncredited)
* [[Henry Kendall (actor)|Henry Kendall]] as Lord Bruce Carlton
* [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]] as Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde
* Patricia Raine as Maid/Amber
* [[Bill Fraser]] as Oliver Cromwell
* [[George Benson (actor)|George Benson]] as Temporary Waiter
* [[Ronald Adam (actor)|Ronald Adam]] as Director General of the BBC
{{div col end}}

==Production==
Director Ralph Thomas called the film "one of those 'Friday night pictures'" he made under [[Sydney Box]]. "You were quite likely to finish shooting on Friday, plan to go into the cutting rooms on Monday to look over your stuff and get your cut ready, then go for a drink, and you'd be given another script and be told, 'The sets are standing and you start on Monday - this is the cast!' It wasn't necessarily good and we didn't get a lot of money, but it was regular."<ref name="brian">Brian McFarlane, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'' 1997 p 556</ref>

Thomas did not "particularly want to make comedies, but I said I'd enormously admired a crazy American picture called ''[[Hellzapoppin' (film)|Hellzapoppin]]!'' We cast it well and enjoyed making it, although I never quite understood the storyline. Funnily enough it has become a sort of cult picture in odd places."<ref name="brian"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0041455}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160610141739/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/Helter-Skelter_1949 ''Helter Skelter''] at Britmovie
{{Ralph Thomas}}

[[Category:1949 films]]
[[Category:1949 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:British romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1940s fantasy-comedy films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ralph Thomas]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Charles II of England]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Oliver Cromwell]]
[[Category:British haunted house films]]
[[Category:1940s British films]]