Britannia of Billingsgate

Britannia of Billingsgate
Directed bySinclair Hill
Written byGeorge Moresby-White
Ralph Stock
Based onBritannia of Billingsgate by Sewell Stokes and Christine Jope-Slade
Produced byMichael Balcon
StarringViolet Loraine
Gordon Harker
Kay Hammond
John Mills
CinematographyMutz Greenbaum
Edited byFrederick Y. Smith
Music byBretton Byrd
Jack Beaver
Production
company
Distributed byGaumont British Distributors
Release date
  • May 1933 (1933-05)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Britannia of Billingsgate is a 1933 British musical comedy film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Violet Loraine, Gordon Harker, Kay Hammond and John Mills.[1] It was written by George Moresby-White and Ralph Stock based on the 1931 play Britannia of Billingsgate by Christine Jope-Slade and Sewell Stokes.[2]

It was shot at the Lime Grove Studios in London. The film's sets were designed by the art director Alfred Junge.[3]

Plot

A family who work in the fish trade at Billingsgate Market encounter a film crew who are shooting there.[3]

Cast

Speedway scenes

The motorcycle speedway scenes from the film were shot at Lea Bridge Stadium,[4] featuring some of the leading riders in Britain at the time: Colin Watson, Arthur Warwick, Gus Kuhn, Tom Farndon, Claude Rye and Ron Johnson.[5][6]

Reception

Film Weekly wrote: "The producers of Britannia of Billingsgate have made a thoroughly British comedy which also has the advantage of being a good film. The progrens from an East End fish-and-chip shop to a West End film studio of Mrs. Britannia Bolton, the Pride of Billingsgate, is paved with laughter."[7]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Sound comedy on popular lines with marked Cockney flavour, broad rather than subtle in characterisation. Its strong point consists of settings in Billingsgate market, a real film studio, and a dirt-track sequence. Smooth direction helps an unconvincing scenario, and the stars come over well, especially Violet Loraine, whose screen debut is helped by several songs in her very individual style."[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Britannia of Billingsgate". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  2. ↑ Goble, Alan (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 444. ISBN 9783598114922.
  3. 1 2 "Britannia of Billingsgate (1933)". BFI. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Old Vienna". Nottingham Evening Post. 12 December 1933. Retrieved 29 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Britannia Of Billingsgate (1933)". YouTube. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Britannia Of Billingsgate". Speedway Plus. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Britannia of Billingsgate". Film Weekly. 9 (246): 30-31. 30 June 1933. ProQuest 1771135189.
  8. ↑ "Britannia of Billingsgate". Kine Weekly. 196 (1367): 19. 29 June 1933. ProQuest 2338264732.
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