Forever and a Day

This is the first charity fundraiser film. All the stars, directors and writers offered their services for free with all profits from the box office going to charity. Although such a project, written by 'a committee' isn't going to produce an innovative classic, this isn't too bad. These were after all, top stars, top directors and top writers with their reputations to preserve so this would have to be a classy affair. Jessie Matthews for example only spent three days on this but because this was a prestigious affair and for a very worthy cause, she and everyone else put 100% effort into it.

The theme is: there'll always be an England so expect lots of blitz spirit, stiff upper lips and chirpy hat-doffing cockneys. It's told through the history of an old London house so is a perfect opportunity for virtually every English star to do a turn playing the sort of roles which made them famous. Everyone delivers the exact performance the audience would expect. C Aubrey Smith for example plays a compilation of every role he's ever played.

Each story can stand on their own as separate stories but they're nicely blended together. The Victor Saville section is a sweet little comic interlude which is characteristically very Victor Saville. He has his former star, Jessie Matthews alongside Charles Laughton both raising a little chuckle. We're more used to seeing Jessie Matthews a decade younger in her Gaumont days but she still looks stunning.

Getting all these English actors, directors and writers to put this together for free was a lovely idea. The resulting film is historically interesting but it's not a piece of entertainment. Unlike some other propaganda films, this one doesn't offer anything particular to a modern audience other than as a curiosity.