Over the Garden Wall is a 1950 British comedy film directed by John E. Blakeley and starring Norman Evans, Jimmy James and Dan Young.[1] The film was made at Mancunian Films at their Dickenson Road Studios in Manchester. Although made on a low-budget, the film often topped double bills at cinemas in the North of England because of the popularity of the performers.[2]

Over the Garden Wall
Directed by	John E. Blakeley
Written by	Harry Jackson John E. Blakeley
Produced by	John E. Blakeley
Starring	Norman Evans Jimmy James Dan Young
Cinematography	Ernest Palmer
Edited by	Dorothy Stimson
Music by	F.M. Whitefoot Billy Butler
Production company	Mancunian Films
Distributed by	Mancunian Films
Release date	20 November 1950
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Plot

Working class couple Fanny and Joe (Norman Evans and Jimmy James), are determined to give their daughter Mary (Sonya O'Shea) and her husband a posh home coming party. Trouble arises when the son of Joe's boss (Frederick Bradshaw) turns up and shamelessly flirts with their daughter.

Cast

• Norman Evans as Fanny Lawton
• Jimmy James as Joe Lawton
• Dan Young as Dan
• Alec Pleon as Alec
• Sonya O'Shea as Mary Harrison
• Frederick Bradshaw as Ken Smith
• Agnes Bernelle as Val Westwood
• Neville Brook as Mr. Smith
• John Wynn as Tony Harrison
• Patrick Baring
• Billy Howard
• Langley Howard
• Eli Woods as Eli

Legacy

Despite its popularity, Over the Garden Wall was poorly regarded at the time by the National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC), who decided to withdraw financial support from Mancunian Films. The NFFC chairman, Lord Reith, expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of Mancunian's comedy productions; of Over the Garden Wall (1950), Reith said it was not "of as high a quality as the Corporation would have wished".[3]

Norman Evans' appearance in drag as Fanny Lawton was an influential performance in the history of female impersonation on-screen, and his character later inspired the comedian Les Dawson with his comedy drag act as Cissy Braithwaite.[4]

References

Bibliography

• Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. The British 'B' Film. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.
• Hunter, I. Q.; Porter, Laraine (4 May 2012). British Comedy Cinema. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-50837-0. Retrieved 29 May 2022.

External links

• Over the Garden Wall at IMDb

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