Lassie from Lancashire

Supposedly set on the Isle of Man but shot in Welwyn Garden City (where it never leaves the studio - even for the beach scenes).

This no-budget imitation Gracie Fields tale of the travails of a North Country Cinderella is plainly just an excuse for a lineup of music hall acts of the period, punctuated by turns by female lead Marjorie Browne, of which the most memorable is a Vesta Tilley routine in uniform.

Marjorie Browne is the LASSIE FROM LANCASHIRE. With her father, Mark Daly, she shows up on the Isle of Man to stay at her aunt's boarding house, while the two of them look for something to turn up. Soon enough, she hooks up with Hal Thompson, an aspiring singer-songwriter and, in short order, they conquer the amateur show at Pierrotland and are taken on. However, her aunt, played by Elsie Wagstaff, is opposed to her niece going on the stage.

It's a modest but nice little musical of the diagetic variety -- all the musical numbers take place in "real life" and some of the numbers are very good. Neither of the leads got much of a movie career out of it, but there is some real talent lurking about; it's the first movie appearance of Leslie Phillips. The original songs are all right and there is a fine trio singing "There Is a Tavern in the Town" to cheer up those who like old numbers.

It's directed by John Paddy Carstairs, a good if not particularly distinguished director who took his movies and always made them watchable. His biggest hit was made fifteen years after this, when he directed Norman Wisdom in TROUBLE IN STORE.

There was a time when the UK was filmicly divided into North and South.George Formby and Gracie Fields were very popular in the North but less so in the South and vice versa for Max Miller.It is clear from the fact that this is set in the North and that most of the actors have northern accents that this is a film which is aimed squarely at the North of the country.The film is very bright and breezy.Marjorie Browne,who i have never heard of,comes over as an imitation of Gracie Fields only rather more photogenic.she has a nice voice and pleasing personality.She only made 3 films.i wonder why.There are a large number of songs in this film,they are all very tuneful so it is no surprise when you see Noel Gay's name in the credits.The plot is very slight but the film is very entertaining.