Dance Hall (film)
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Dance Hall | |
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Petula Clark and Douglas Barr in Dance Hall |
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Directed by | Charles Crichton |
Produced by | E.V.H. Emmett |
Written by | E.V.H. Emmett Alexander Mackendrick Diana Morgan |
Starring | Donald Houston Petula Clark |
Music by | Joyce Cochrane Reg Owen Jack Parnell |
Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
Editing by | Seth Holt |
Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date(s) | June 1950 (UK) April 30 1951 |
Running time | 80 min |
Country | |
Language | English |
IMDb profile |
Dance Hall is a 1950 British film starring Petula Clark, Natasha Parry, Diana Dors, and Jane Hylton. The screenplay by E.V.H. Emmett, Diana Morgan, and Alexander Mackendrick was directed by Charles Crichton. The film was produced by Michael Balcon for release by Ealing Studios.
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 Guiness. The story line centers 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 colorful background for a rather thin plot. Clark is Georgie, who aspires to become a dance champion with her partner, Peter (Douglas Barr). Although the couple fails to win the Greater London Amateur Dancing Championships, they become romantically involved and announce their engagement at the climactic New Year's Eve festivities. Meanwhile, Eve (Parry) jeopardizes her marriage to Phil (Donald Houston) when she chooses someone other than him to serve as her partner in the big competition.
Geraldo and Ted Heath and their bands provided most of the music and added to the authentic atmosphere captured by art director Norman Arnold. 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.
[edit] Reference
Forever Ealing by George Perry, published by Pavilion, 1981