Britannia of Billingsgate

This is terrible. It's moderately interesting to see the workings of a major 1930s studio but it's no MAKE ME A STAR or WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD. The characters are just so one dimensional.

Even Gordon Harker, who's usually quite engaging is void of any personality. You're unable to relate to any of these cardboard characters and because you can't get to know them, you can't care about them. You have to force yourself to sit through this!

It was envisaged as a vehicle to re-launch the career of Violet Lorraine. She had been incredibly famous a couple of decades earlier. In 1916 she duetted with George Robey to record one of the most popular songs of World War I: 'If you were the only girl in the world.' Having been retired for over ten years, Michael Balcon thought that she was just what the audiences of 1933 would like. For those who remembered her, this was probably wonderfully nostalgic for them (maybe like the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion?) Unless you're a fan of Edwardian music hall however you're not going to be enamoured by Miss Loraine. Don't expect a 1930s style musical!

Gaumont-British made some great musicals in the 1930s but this isn't one of them.