Sidewalks of London

I was in awe of this movie. THREE great actors right off the bat: Rex Harrison, Charles Laughton AND the incomparable, Vivian Leigh thrill the senses! I was pleased just to look at them & watch them apply their craft. I wasn't as excited about the plot. It was the actors I enjoyed seeing. However, the movie was great in it's historic setting. Of course, it took place in the 1938's present day. But it was like a history lesson in the arts. Street performers still perform on the streets of New York. It was interesting to see it in the London setting. Viewing live 1930s entertainment was such fun & historically educational. Much more enjoyable watching it "live" than reading it in a dusty old book.

I never heard of this film..During my recent insomniac attacks The Sidewalks of London was shown on WLIW TV (It must have been aired @ 2 am..Long Island NY station) I missed the beginning by a few minutes..but thoroughly enjoyed this film..a wonderful surprise great story and a dream cast: Charles Laughton, Vivien Leigh and "sexy" Rexy Harrison all giving wonderful performances... was not a good copy however will be looking for a better in the future..Miss Leigh made this film I believe just before GWTW ..and she sings and dances surprisingly well as does Laughton Don't Miss ! The plot involves London Street entertainer, Laughton & Leigh are friends living together (with Ms. Leigh;'s {Liberty}family) barely making a living Laughton is older than Leigh loves her but along comes Rex.. and things change Leigh becomes a musical comedy star Laughton becomes a street begger and goes to jail for a time.. very moving .& fun also. Don't Miss!!

When St. Martin's Lane first came out it was not given any release in the United States, I suppose because American audiences would not be attuned to buskers. We have no equivalent of that here.

Nevertheless it's a nice film. Charles Laughton is the head of a troop of buskers (British street entertainers)who inhabit and perform in and around the London theater district. The group takes in street waif Vivien Leigh and it's obvious she's got real talent. And theatrical composer Rex Harrison appreciates her charms even more than her talent.

Laughton is not a man who takes betrayal gladly as he sees it. The rest of the film you'll have to see for yourself.

It's nice to see both Harrison and Leigh in good parts before they became big stars. Laughton as always is fabulous, he's got the London cockney accent down pat.

After Vivien Leigh became a star with the release of Gone With the Wind, St. Martin's Lane made it to the states in a limited run. It was no big hit in Great Britain for Laughton who co-produced it with Erich Pommer, the second of three films they did. But Vivien Leigh's success helped them recoup a bit.

I'm forced by conscience to admit right off that I've been a complete sap for Vivien Leigh since the moment I laid eyes on her sitting between the "Tarlton Twins" on the steps at Twelve Oaks in the opening seconds of GWTW. But in decades of looking to find that =particular= Vivien Leigh again, I was everlastingly frustrated.

I found over time that I had fallen for the Vivien the Vixen, the face that could send men happily off to (civil) war in delirious dreams of marching home to her and "happily ever after" ...and the cocksure certainty of precisely that effect upon any man who dared to gaze into that face for more than a few seconds.

One wonders how much she was aware of the thermonuclear force of that face in real life. Olivier is gone, and so is she, so we'll probably never know. But we do know this: Vivien's best friend as a youngster was the formidable -- and slightly older -- Maureen O'Sullivan, she of "Tarzan the Apeman," and no lightweight herself when it came to bowling men over.

While there are hints of Scarlet in Vivien in "Waterloo Bridge" and "That Hamilton Woman," none of the other films I know of allow her to be the manipulative, coercive, self-obsessed, narcissistic, pouting diva that she was as Libby and Scarlet.

Had Selznick seen rushes or scenes from "Sideawalks..." before or after he cast Leigh in her legend maker? Did he see Scarlet right there in black and white? One wonders. Because Libby =is= Scarlet O'Hara regardless of the surrounding scenery and cockney word-chewing.

The similarities do not end there. Virtually every expression and and mannerism is fully formed and on display in Libby the busker =and= Libby the diva. Harrison is a more sophisticated, straightforward and cynical version of Leslie Howard's Ashley Wilkes. And Thomas Mitchell's Gerald O'Hara looks and sounds a =lot= like Lawton's Charlie Staggers.

I'm forced to think that Selznick =did= see "Sidewalks..." and that he saw it far more than once. But in whatever event, those who caught the Viv bug as badly as I did years ago should be pleased to see her living right up to our expectations after so many other relative disappointments.

I cannot praise this film enough. ST. MARTIN'S LANE captures the feeling and mood of the time so well. The performances are outstanding. In one film you have 3 of the centurie's greatest actors Rex Harrison, Vivian Leigh, and Charles Laughton.

Vivian Leigh was never more fetching,gutsy or charming.not even in Gone with the wind or waterloo bridge. Harrison make the most of his typical leading man role and Laughton evokes such sympathy. it is his finest performance as well. my onlt question is why has this gem been almost forgotten? I was lucky enough to catch it on television about 8 years ago. it is only now being released on video.My advice...purchase this film,you need it in your personal collection !