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The first ever DVD release of this classic British musical comedy which has been unseen for over thirty years. Roll up! Roll up! London Town is one of the BIGGEST films ever made in Britain! Comedy legend Sid Field plays comedian Jerry Sandford who comes to London from the provinces expecting to make his fortune - only to find himself stuck in the wings as the unloved understudy. Determined to help her dad hit the big time, his daughter Peggy (a young Petula Clark) decides to take matters into her own hands. One of Rank s biggest-budget films, London Town is packed with classic tunes and show-stopping dancing, this gorgeous Technicolor fantasy is effervescent entertainment of the finest vintage! Extra Features include: Stills Gallery, Booklet notes and Best of British trailers.
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A triumph…in its own class --The Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Lavish British 1946 Musical available for the first time on DVD,
By Movie Guy (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: London Town [DVD] (DVD)
What a surprise to see a complete print of this film appear on DVD. The British Film institute did a wonderful job (about 30 years ago) in restoring a much shortened version of this film. This appears to be the complete version - unfortunately it is not digitally restored - the colour and contrast are both variable with blemishes, but it is certainly watchable if you are not too fussy. I am giving it five stars due to its rarity - I cannot imagine where Odeon have managed to find this.The story line is very thin and rather silly. The main reason for buying this film would be to enjoy the songs, dances and sketches. You will see Petula Clark (as a child star), Kay Kendall (of Genevieve fame in her first film appearance), Comedian Sid Field, Comedian/Songstress Tessie O'Shea, Beryl Davis, Jack Parnell and a host of others in Technicolor. Indeed this was the very first British feature length musical to be made in Technicolor. Songs include "My Heart Goes Crazy" (perhaps the best number in the film); "So Would I"; "If Spring Were Here to Stay"; "You Can't keep a Good Dreamer Down" (which Sid Fields sings to Petula Clark). You will also learn a "new" dance "The Hampstead Way". There is also a sequence which appears to be taken on location on the Thames around Windsor and Eton and a (studio) Cockney sequence on Hampstead Heath with the purley kings and queens doing a medley of tunes "Don't Dilly Dally", "Any Old Iron" (with Tessie O'Shea) etc. This film cost a fortune to make - it went way over budget and up months of Studio time, with a large supporting cast and amazing settings - all at a time when Britain had barely recovered from the second world war. Well worth a look especially at the bargain price. The like of this will never be seen again!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting failure,
By
This review is from: London Town [DVD] (DVD)
Firstly, I want to re-iterate a comment I've put against another review - we are very lucky to have had this released on DVD, and the distributors should indeed be thanked. The print used isn't perfect, some scenes are quite dark and the technicolor doesn't match up to the way it was used in Hollywood at the time. But we must put that into context - the film was produced immediately after the end of the war in very difficult circumstances, and with hindsight was probably just too ambitious a project to have been undertaken at all at that time.It's lovely to see beautiful Kay Kendall in her first starring role and one can only imagine her personal devastation when the failure of London Town killed her film career in the bud, it took five years until she began to get small parts again leading to her colossal success in Genevieve. She looks great, especially in the routine at the end of the film, sexy in a low cut green gown and then resplendent in red. Her early death in 1959 robbed the world of a wonderful comedienne and beauty, just as a big Hollywood career was looming for her. The score contains four catchy numbers, "The Hampstead Way", "My Heart goes crazy" and "You can't keep a good dreamer down" being the best. However, the staging of all of them is not that good - the choreography of "My Heart goes crazy" is among the poorest both in design and execution that I can recall in any major musical. The chorines themselves have incredibly heavy make-up which gives them quite a grotesque appearance in the close-ups. All the musical numbers are long, protracted and just not imaginatively staged. I found Sid Field's routines totally unfunny. He was undoubtedly a big star but maybe he just couldn't translate to film. The interesting supporting cast includes Sonnie Hale and Claude Hulbert, big 1930's British film stars,Tessie O'Shea, Greta Gynt and a very young Petula Clark, who sadly doesn't sing at all. In spite of its faults, this is well worth a view. It's a case of grab it while you can, it's very unlikely to ever be re-released. This is a very rare film and has a niche in the history of British cinema. Thanks, ODEON!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
London Town - film quality,
By
This review is from: London Town [DVD] (DVD)
Ten years ago when I ran a film channel called Carlton Cinema we showed this film - Indeed I went to great lengths to find the longest material in existence so we could allow viewers the opportunity of seeing the complete filmas per its' original release. The reissue material that survived was absolutely fine - not overly dark and the technicolor print was good. The cut material however only existed on a Eumatic tape which we tracked down to a post production house in Soho. We then edited the cut material back into the reissue print. Before transmission we always announced that although the material was not perfect it was extremely rare and was the best known to exist. We did not have one complaint. Unfortunately most DVD companies other than the major studios do NOT restore anything from film , they use existing tapes as it is the cheapest route and this is definitely the case here. London Town is NOT a good film but it is a curiousity however it will NEVER be restored as there is no money in it for the distributor ! Curiously enough the CD of the soundtrack IS restored and includes all the cut songs even the Petula Clark ones ! MY worst DVD complaint is on the awful box-set of Anna Neagle where the material on the two Victoria films is just shocking !!!!
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