Sidewalks of London

Infobox Film
name = Sidewalks of London


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director = Tim Whelan
producer = Erich Pommer
Charles Laughton (uncredited)
writer = Bartlett Cormack
Clemence Dane
Charles Laughton
Erich Pommer
Tim Whelan
starring = Charles Laughton
Vivien Leigh
Rex Harrison
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cinematography =
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released = October 18 1938
runtime = 85 minutes
country = United Kingdom
language = English
budget =
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amg_id = 1:44591
imdb_id = 0030746

"Sidewalks of London", also known as "St. Martin's Lane", is a 1938 drama film starring Charles Laughton as a busker or street entertainer who teams up with a talented pickpocket, played by Vivien Leigh.

Cast

*Charles Laughton as Charles Staggers
*Vivien Leigh as Libby
*Rex Harrison as Harley Prentiss
*Larry Adler as Constantine
*Tyrone Guthrie as Gentry
*Gus McNaughton as Arthur Smith

Production

Charles Laughton, in the film industry, was not a particularly likable man, but was a very talented actor. He was often picky about his costars and when deals were attempting to be struck for a film version of "Cyrano de Bergerac" for Leigh's services, Laughton stated that she would have to dye her hair blonde. Leigh instead asked for a blonde wig, but Laughton would only have her dye her hair. Either way, the discussions fell through and Leigh felt slighted by him. When Leigh was approached to make "Sidewalks of London", she did not want to work with Laughton and she felt no attachment to the role. Nevertheless, she was persuaded otherwise. In Alexander Walker's biography of Leigh, Larry Adler is quoted as saying that Leigh was difficult to work with. He said, "She didn't like Charles and he didn't like her. But he was much more professional. One weekend there were a few close-ups of Vivien to be done outside a theater and Charles, who invariably went down to the country with Elsa [Lanchester] at weekends, stayed up in town to 'feed' Vivien lines from behind the camera. I doubt if she'd have done as much for him. [Laurence] Olivier would show up on the set and they'd disappear into her dressing-room and it was quite a business to get her back to work." Not surprisingly, Laurence Olivier would show up on the days that Leigh was to shoot love scenes with the handsome Rex Harrison.

External links

*tcmdb title|id=21539