The Lady Is a Square
Encyclopedia
The Lady Is a Square is a 1959
British comedy
musical film
directed by Herbert Wilcox
and featuring Anna Neagle
, Frankie Vaughan
and Janette Scott
. An aspiring singer goes to work as a butler in the house of a classical music patron. It was Neagle's final film appearance and the last film directed by Wilcox although he produced several further films before his bankcruptcy in 1964.
musician, Spolenski, to play in a series of concerts in Britain. However, she is aware that she is on the brink of bankruptcy
and the Spolenski tour offers a final chance to save her finances.
Johnny Burns, an aspiring singer is hanging around a music shop he frequents when he spot Mrs Baring’s daughter, Joanna. Enraptured he pretends to be a piano-tuner and goes round to her house to help prepare the piano for a party held in Spolenksi’s honour. Later, when Mrs Baring is short of a butler he offers his services and is so successful at his duties that he is taken on in a more permanent basis. He slowly begins to bond and court Joanna while doing his best to conceal his love of popular, modern music from Mrs Baring who is resolutely opposed to it and has forbidden her daughter to listen to it. Her financial problems continue to mount up and her phone is cut due to unpaid bills.
Burns’ friend and agent, Freddy, meanwhile has secured him an audition with Greenslade, a major popular record label, who are impressed with his performance. Convinced he is going to be a major star, they make plans to sign him up on a long-term contract. Burn’s first demand of Greenslade is for money to pay for Mrs Baring’s telephone to be restored. Mrs Baring is relieved by this gesture, but believes the money came from one of her other friends rather than Burns.
Burn’s career swiftly takes off, he is engaged to perform at Talk of the Town, while still keeping his new success a secret from the Barings. Mrs Baring has further problems when tickets for her Spolenski concerts sell badly, and he threatens to leave for home unless she is able to put up £3,000. Once again Burns secretly steps in, securing the money as an advance from Greenslades. After learning of Burn’s fame, Joanna goes to his concert. When her mother discovers this, she grows furious and confronts both of them firing Burns and forbidding her daughter from seeing him again. In his anger, he calls her a “square”.
Their rift is not helped by his next song, “The Lady is a Square” which appears to be directly mocking her. However she relents when she discovers that he has secretly been paying her bills and that he is trying to abandon a concert of his, which is scheduled at the same time as her Spolenski concert, in a bid to help her ticket sales. Spolenski then falls ill, which turns out to be a blessing as it will mean they will be able to re-launch the tour with financial assistance from Greenslade.
Baring and her daughter attend Burn’s concert where to their surprise he performs Handel
’s Ombra mai fu
with the National Youth Orchestra
, to wild applause from his fans. Ultimately they are able to agree on the co-existence of popular and classical music and Mrs Baring ends the film dancing to one of Burns’ songs.
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
British comedy
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...
musical film
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...
directed by Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Sydney Wilcox was a British film producer and director.-Early life:Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, but he was born in Norwood and attended school in Brighton...
and featuring Anna Neagle
Anna Neagle
Forming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight Vienna , again with Jack Buchanan. With this film Neagle became an overnight favourite...
, Frankie Vaughan
Frankie Vaughan
Frankie Vaughan, CBE, DL was an English singer of traditional pop music, who issued more than 80 recordings in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after one of his early hits.-Life and career:...
and Janette Scott
Janette Scott
Thora Janette Scott is an English actress. She was born in Morecambe, England. She is the daughter of actors Jimmy Scott and Thora Hird. She started her acting career as a child actress, known as Janette Scott, and became a popular leading lady...
. An aspiring singer goes to work as a butler in the house of a classical music patron. It was Neagle's final film appearance and the last film directed by Wilcox although he produced several further films before his bankcruptcy in 1964.
Plot
Mrs Baring, a business woman and patron of classical music, has arranged for a celebrated Eastern BlocEastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
musician, Spolenski, to play in a series of concerts in Britain. However, she is aware that she is on the brink of bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
and the Spolenski tour offers a final chance to save her finances.
Johnny Burns, an aspiring singer is hanging around a music shop he frequents when he spot Mrs Baring’s daughter, Joanna. Enraptured he pretends to be a piano-tuner and goes round to her house to help prepare the piano for a party held in Spolenksi’s honour. Later, when Mrs Baring is short of a butler he offers his services and is so successful at his duties that he is taken on in a more permanent basis. He slowly begins to bond and court Joanna while doing his best to conceal his love of popular, modern music from Mrs Baring who is resolutely opposed to it and has forbidden her daughter to listen to it. Her financial problems continue to mount up and her phone is cut due to unpaid bills.
Burns’ friend and agent, Freddy, meanwhile has secured him an audition with Greenslade, a major popular record label, who are impressed with his performance. Convinced he is going to be a major star, they make plans to sign him up on a long-term contract. Burn’s first demand of Greenslade is for money to pay for Mrs Baring’s telephone to be restored. Mrs Baring is relieved by this gesture, but believes the money came from one of her other friends rather than Burns.
Burn’s career swiftly takes off, he is engaged to perform at Talk of the Town, while still keeping his new success a secret from the Barings. Mrs Baring has further problems when tickets for her Spolenski concerts sell badly, and he threatens to leave for home unless she is able to put up £3,000. Once again Burns secretly steps in, securing the money as an advance from Greenslades. After learning of Burn’s fame, Joanna goes to his concert. When her mother discovers this, she grows furious and confronts both of them firing Burns and forbidding her daughter from seeing him again. In his anger, he calls her a “square”.
Their rift is not helped by his next song, “The Lady is a Square” which appears to be directly mocking her. However she relents when she discovers that he has secretly been paying her bills and that he is trying to abandon a concert of his, which is scheduled at the same time as her Spolenski concert, in a bid to help her ticket sales. Spolenski then falls ill, which turns out to be a blessing as it will mean they will be able to re-launch the tour with financial assistance from Greenslade.
Baring and her daughter attend Burn’s concert where to their surprise he performs Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
’s Ombra mai fu
Ombra mai fu
"Ombra mai fu" is the opening aria from the 1738 opera Serse by George Frideric Handel.-Context:The opera was a commercial failure, lasting only five performances in London after its premiere. In the 19th century, however, the aria was rediscovered and became one of Handel's best-known pieces...
with the National Youth Orchestra
National Youth Orchestra
The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain is an orchestra of 163 young musicians from the United Kingdom. The members of the orchestra are all aged between 13 and 19 years. The players are selected by auditions which take place in the autumn each year at various locations in the country...
, to wild applause from his fans. Ultimately they are able to agree on the co-existence of popular and classical music and Mrs Baring ends the film dancing to one of Burns’ songs.
Cast list
- Anna NeagleAnna NeagleForming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight Vienna , again with Jack Buchanan. With this film Neagle became an overnight favourite...
as Frances Baring - Frankie VaughanFrankie VaughanFrankie Vaughan, CBE, DL was an English singer of traditional pop music, who issued more than 80 recordings in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after one of his early hits.-Life and career:...
as Johnny Burns - Janette ScottJanette ScottThora Janette Scott is an English actress. She was born in Morecambe, England. She is the daughter of actors Jimmy Scott and Thora Hird. She started her acting career as a child actress, known as Janette Scott, and became a popular leading lady...
as Joanna Baring - Anthony NewleyAnthony NewleyAnthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
as Freddy - Wilfrid Hyde-WhiteWilfrid Hyde-WhiteWilfrid Hyde-White was an English character actor.-Early life and career:Wilfrid Hyde White was born at the rectory in Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, the son of William Edward White, canon of Gloucester Cathedral, and his wife, Ethel Adelaide Drought...
as Charles - Christopher RhodesChristopher RhodesSir Christopher George Rhodes, 3rd Baronet was an English film and television actor.-Early life:Rhodes was the only son of Sir John Rhodes, 2nd Baronet, and was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. During the Second World War he served with the Essex Regiment, reaching the rank...
as Greenslade - Kenneth CopeKenneth CopeKenneth Cope is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as Marty Hopkirk in Randall and Hopkirk , Jed Stone in Coronation Street and Ray Hilton in Brookside.- Career :...
as Derek - Josephine Fitzgerald as Mrs. Eady
- Harold KasketHarold KasketHarold Kasket, was a British actor in films and later TV from the 1940s. Kasket usually played Arabs or mainland European types in many films and TV programmes such as Maigret, The Saint, Danger Man, Z-Cars, Department S and The Tomorrow People. His last role was in the TV mini series War and...
as Spolenski - John Le MesurierJohn Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
as Fergusson - Ted LuneTed LuneTed Lune was a British actor, best known for portraying Private Len Bone in the TV series The Army Game...
as Harry Shuttleworth - Mary PeachMary PeachMary Peach is a British film and television actress, who was married to the screenwriter and director Jimmy Sangster until his death in 2011....
as Mrs. Freddy