Out of the Blue (1931 film)

Out of the Blue is a 1931 British musical film directed by Gene Gerrard and starring Gerrard, Jessie Matthews and Kay Hammond.^[2] It was produced by British International Pictures at the company's Elstree Studios near London. The film's sets were designed by the art director David Rawnsley.

Out of the Blue
Jessie Matthews sings the title song
Directed by	Gene Gerrard
Screenplay by	Bert Lee Frank Miller R.P. Weston
Based on	Little Tommy Tucker 1930 play by Desmond Carter and Caswell Garth[1]
Produced by	John Maxwell
Starring	Gene Gerrard Jessie Matthews Kay Hammond
Cinematography	Arthur Crabtree Ernest Palmer
Edited by	Edward B. Jarvis
Music by	Vivian Ellis
Production company	British International Pictures
Distributed by	Pathé Pictures International
Release date	5 November 1931 (1931-11-05)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

It was Matthews' first major film role.^[3] A baronet's daughter falls in love with a radio star who is engaged to marry her sister. The film was not a success, but led to Matthews being cast in There Goes the Bride and given a contract by Gainsborough Pictures.^[3] Matthews later wrote in her autobiography, "Out of the Blue was adapted from a stage musical and never should have left the boards."^[4] John Orton served as a supervising director.^[2]

Plot

Impoverished aristocrat's daughter Tommy Tucker (Jessie Matthews) is in love with radio announcer Bill Coverdale (Gene Gerrard), but he is engaged to her more glamorous sister Angela (Kay Hammond), who he does not love. Seeking escape from this hopeless situation, and her life of genteel poverty, Tommy flees abroad to Biarritz to become a nightclub singer.

Cast

• Gene Gerrard as Bill Coverdale
• Jessie Matthews as Tommy Tucker
• Kay Hammond as Angela Tucker
• Kenneth Kove as Freddie
• Binnie Barnes as Rosa
• David Miller as Sir Jeremy Tucker
• Fred Groves as Bannister Blair
• Averil Haley as Judy Blair
• Hal Gordon as Videlop
• Gordon Begg as Mumford

Critical reception

TV Guide and Britmovie both called the film "lightweight."^[5][6]

References

1. Gifford, Denis (1 April 2016). British Film Catalogue: Two Volume Set – The Fiction Film/The Non-Fiction Film. Routledge. ISBN 9781317740636 – via Google Books.
2. "Out of the Blue (1931) | BFI". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
3. MacNab p.74
4. "Evergreen (1934)". Turner Classic Movies.
5. "Out Of The Blue". TVGuide.com.
6. "Out of the Blue | Britmovie | Home of British Films". Britmovie. Retrieved 24 July 2014.

Bibliography

• MacNab, Geoffrey. Searching for stars: stardom and screen acting in British cinema. Casell, 2000.

External links

• Out of the Blue at IMDb
• Out of the Blue at AllMovie