Play Up the Band

Play Up the Band
Frank Atkinson, Betty Ann Davies and Stanley Holloway
Directed byHarry Hughes
Written by
Produced by
  • Basil Humphrys
  • Eric Donaldson
Starring
CinematographyJames Wilson
Edited byPaul Capon
Music byEric Spear
Production
company
City Films
Distributed byAssociated British Film Distributors
Release date
  • November 1935 (1935-11)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Play Up the Band (also known as Sharps and Flats[1]) is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Stanley Holloway, Betty Ann Davies and Leslie Bradley.[2] It was written by Aveling Ginever, Frank Atkinson, Katherine Strueby, Vernon Harris and Hughes, and made at Ealing Studios as a quota quickie[1] by the independent company City Films.[3] The film's sets were designed by art director R. Holmes Paul. Location shooting took place at the Crystal Palace.

Synopsis

The brass band of the Northern town of Hechdyke travel south to London to compete in a national contest. In the capital Sam Small becomes mixed up in a series of adventures including a plot to steal Lady Heckdyke's pearls and the romantic relationship between Heckdyke's son and Small's cousin Betty. Mistakenly arrested for the theft of the pearls, Small has to race to reach The Crystal Palace in time for the competition.

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Stanley Holloway as chief bandsman the soloist acts well and is very entertaining. His Yorkshire accent gets its laughs, and his recitations of the Ghost in Hampton Court Maze and Sweeney Todd the Barber are thrillingly funny. He is well backed up by the rest of the cast. Love interest is supplied by Betty Davies and the son of the factory owner."[4]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Artless north country comedy, dealing with the hectic adventures of the members of a brass band, while on a visit to London. Original gags are difficult to find during the course of the picture's haphazard development, but Stanley Holloway, nevertheless, manages to survive the severe handicap imposed by inferior subject matter and direction."[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Chibnall, Steve (2007). Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' Film. British Film Institute. p. 284. ISBN 978-1844571550.
  2. ↑ "Play Up the Band". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  3. ↑ Perry, George (1994). Forever Ealing. Pavilion Books. p. 175. ISBN 978-0907516606.
  4. ↑ "Play Up the Band". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 2 (13): 199. 1 January 1935. ProQuest 1305797511.
  5. ↑ "Play Up the Band". Kine Weekly (1493): 29. 28 November 1935. ProQuest 2338350540.
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