- Dance Hall (film)
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Dance Hall 
Petula Clark and Douglas Barr in Dance HallDirected by Charles Crichton Produced by E.V.H. Emmett Written by E.V.H. Emmett
Alexander Mackendrick
Diana MorganStarring Donald Houston
Petula ClarkMusic by Joyce Cochrane
Reg Owen
Jack ParnellCinematography Douglas Slocombe Editing by Seth Holt Distributed by General Film Distributors Release date(s) June 1950 (UK)
30 April 1951 (Sweden)Running time 80 minutes Country United Kingdom Language English Dance Hall is a 1950 British film directed by Charles Crichton. Appealing mainly to a female audience, the film was an unusual departure for the studio, known at the time primarily for its classic comedies starring Alec Guinness.
Contents
Plot
The story line centres on four young women, factory workers who escape the monotony of their jobs by spending their evenings in the Palais, the local dance hall that serves as the colourful background for a rather charming plot. Clark is Georgie, who aspires to become a dance champion with her partner, Peter. Although the couple fail to win the Greater London Amateur Dancing Championships, they become romantically involved and announce their engagement at the climactic New Year's Eve festivities.Clark getting her first adult screen kiss. Meanwhile, Eve jeopardizes her marriage to Phil when she chooses someone else as her partner in the big competition.After much drama and torment all is resolved happily. There is also a plot line for Diana Dors who, as always, enhances the film. British stalwarts of the time are present and give excellent performances : Donald Houston, Sydney Tafler, Gladys Henson, Dandy Nichols Jane Hylton are amongst them. In addition there is Bonar Colleano in villainous mode and the briefest of parts for Kay Kendall. This surely was meant to be a bigger part and the rest ended up on the cutting floor. Kay gets just one spoken line at a time the she had become a true star.
Music
Geraldo and Ted Heath and their bands provided most of the music and added to the authentic atmosphere captured by art director Norman Arnold.
Reception
Most critics thought the leads were too glamorous for the working-class ladies they represented, but agreed that Clark, slowly emerging from the children's roles that had served as the basis of her early film career, and Parry, in her screen debut, had captured the spirit of young, post-war women clinging to the glamour and excitement of the dance hall. Clark was featured on the cover of the June 1950 issue of The Dancing Times and was awarded the Institute of Dancing bronze and silver medals for her work in the film.The film was successful but thought odd at the time because it was very much filmed and told from a woman's perspective, which was something not fashionable then, and for Ealing to make such a film was unheard of . All their other major films were male dominated with women usually being either quirky characters or just eye candy. Dors made a good impact as well. In recent years the film has been seen almost as a docu-drama of a time that has disappeared and one of the best ways of seeing the then prevalent culture - that of the Palais de Dance, which has now disappeared. There is an internet campaign supported both by The International Petula Clark Society website and the Diana Dors Website and Optimum releasing are promising an issue of the film on DVD as of 2011.This is now expected to be in November 2012 to coincide with Clark's 80th birthday.
Credited cast:
- Donald Houston as Phil
- Bonar Colleano as Alec
- Petula Clark as Georgie Wilson
- Natasha Parry as Eve
- Jane Hylton as Mary
- Diana Dors as Carole
- Gladys Henson as Mrs Wilson
- Sydney Tafler as Jim Fairfax (Dance Hall Manager)
- Douglas Barr as Peter
- Fred Johnson as Mr Wilson
- James Carney as Mike
- Kay Kendall as Doreen
- Eunice Gayson as Mona
- Dandy Nichols as Mrs Crabtree
also uncredited are Harry Fowler (amorous youth) and Alma Cogan (dancer)
References
Forever Ealing by George Perry, published by Pavilion, 1981
External links
- Dance Hall at the Internet Movie Database
- Dance Hall (film) at AllRovi
The films of Charles Crichton 1940s For Those in Peril • Dead of Night (segment) • Painted Boats • Hue and Cry • Against the Wind • Another Shore • Train of Events (segment)1950s Dance Hall • The Lavender Hill Mob • Hunted • The Titfield Thunderbolt • The Love Lottery • The Divided Heart • Man in the Sky • Law and Disorder • Floods of Fear • The Battle of the Sexes1960s The Boy Who Stole a Million • The Third Secret • He Who Rides a Tiger1980s The films of Alexander Mackendrick 1940s 1950s 1960s Screenplays Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) (with John Dighton) • Dance Hall (1950) (with E.V.H. Emmett and Diana Morgan)Television The Defenders (1964)Categories:- British films
- English-language films
- 1950 films
- 1950s drama films
- 1950s musical films
- Ealing Studios films
- Films directed by Charles Crichton
- Black-and-white films
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