On Top of the World is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Redd Davis and starring Betty Fields, Frank Pettingell and Leslie Bradley.
After her dog wins at the racetrack, a Lancashire mill worker (Fields) uses the winnings to start a soup kitchen for displaced workers during an industrial dispute, and then mediates between management and labour.
The film was reissued several times.[1] The Monthly Film Bulletin called the story "very naive" and said it presented "an atmosphere of snobbery."[1] Other reviews ignored the political messages and stated "through the wit and sympathy of a woman is harmony and prosperity restored."[1]
The film had originally been intended as a vehicle for Field's sister, Gracie Fields.[2][3] The censor's approved the submitted concept stating "the dog racing part seems very improbably but no doubt Miss Gracie Fields will get away with it."[2]
Cast edit
- Betty Fields - Betty Schofield
- Frank Pettingell - Albert Hicks
- Leslie Bradley - Jimmy Priestley
- Ben Field - Old Harry
- Wally Patch - Cardsharper
- Aileen Latham - Anne
- Fewlass Llewellyn - Soames
- Charles Sewell - Mr Preston
References edit
- ^ a b c Shafer, Stephen (2 September 2003). British Popular Films 1929-1939: The Cinema of Reassurance. Routledge. pp. 297–. ISBN 9781134988365. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ a b Richards, Jeffrey (15 January 2010). The Age of the Dream Palace: Cinema and Society in 1930s Britain. I.B. Tauris. pp. 121–. ISBN 9781848851221. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ BFI.org
External links edit
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