Shipyard Sally
Encyclopedia
Shipyard Sally is a 1939 British
musical
comedy film
directed by Monty Banks
and starring Gracie Fields
, Sydney Howard
, Norma Varden
, Morton Selten
and Joan Cowick. Sally, a failed music hall
performer, and her father take over a pub
near the John Brown & Company
shipyard at Clydebank
. When the closure of the yard threatens to put many out of work she leads a campaign to persuade the government to reconsider the decision. Made shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, it was Fields' last British film. The film is notable for the song Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye
which became a major hit.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Monty Banks
Monty Banks
Montague Banks was a comedian and film director. In the 1920s, he worked in Hollywood, starring in many silent short comedies and in the feature-length action thriller Play Safe...
and starring Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
, Sydney Howard
Sydney Howard
Sydney Howard was an English stage comedian and motion-picture actor born in Leeds, Yorkshire.Already a major stage star, Howard made his feature film début in 1929's Jack Raymond's Splinters, and went on appearing in unique roles in films such as French Leave, Up for the Cup and Mayor's Nest...
, Norma Varden
Norma Varden
Norma Varden was an English actress with a long film career in Hollywood.Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea-captain, Varden was a child prodigy. She trained as a concert pianist in Paris and performed in England before deciding to take up acting...
, Morton Selten
Morton Selten
Morton Selten was a British stage and film actor. He was occasionally credited as Morton Selton.It was generally acknowledged that Selten was an illegitimate son of the then Prince of Wales . He began acting in 1878, with stage performances mainly in America. His film career began in the 1920s...
and Joan Cowick. Sally, a failed music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
performer, and her father take over a pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
near the John Brown & Company
John Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
shipyard at Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
. When the closure of the yard threatens to put many out of work she leads a campaign to persuade the government to reconsider the decision. Made shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, it was Fields' last British film. The film is notable for the song Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye
Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye
"Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye" is a song by Harry Parr-Davies, made popular during the Second World War by Gracie Fields. It appeared in Fields' 1939 film Shipyard Sally. Its use in the film is patriotic, Stephen C...
which became a major hit.
Cast
- Gracie FieldsGracie FieldsDame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
- Sally Fitzgerald - Sydney HowardSydney HowardSydney Howard was an English stage comedian and motion-picture actor born in Leeds, Yorkshire.Already a major stage star, Howard made his feature film début in 1929's Jack Raymond's Splinters, and went on appearing in unique roles in films such as French Leave, Up for the Cup and Mayor's Nest...
- Major Fitzgerald - Morton SeltenMorton SeltenMorton Selten was a British stage and film actor. He was occasionally credited as Morton Selton.It was generally acknowledged that Selten was an illegitimate son of the then Prince of Wales . He began acting in 1878, with stage performances mainly in America. His film career began in the 1920s...
- Lord Alfred Randall - Norma VardenNorma VardenNorma Varden was an English actress with a long film career in Hollywood.Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea-captain, Varden was a child prodigy. She trained as a concert pianist in Paris and performed in England before deciding to take up acting...
- Lady Patricia Randall - Oliver WakefieldOliver WakefieldOliver Wakefield , known as "The Voice of Inexperience" was a popular British actor and comedian active from the 1930s until his death in 1956 known for his idiosyncratic satirical monologues.Wakefield was educated in South Africa, then travelled to England, where he began acting with a Shakespearean...
- Forsyth - Tucker McGuireTucker McGuireTucker McGuire was an American-born actress who appeared largely in British films and television. She was born as Anne Tucker McGuire.-Selected filmography:* Strangers on Honeymoon * Clothes and the Woman...
- Linda Marsh - MacDonald Parke - Diggs
- Richard CooperRichard CooperSir Richard Ashmole Cooper, 2nd Baronet was a British politician.He was educated at Clifton College and married in 1900 to Alice Priestland. He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1913...
- Sir John Treacher - Joan Cowick - Uncredited