Mr. Chedworth Steps Out Explained

Mr. Chedworth Steps Out
Producer:Ken G. Hall
Director:Ken G. Hall
Based On:novel Mr Chedworth Hits Out by Francis Morton Howard
Starring:Cecil Kellaway
Rita Pauncefort
Peter Finch
Music:Hamilton Webber
Cinematography:George Heath
Editing:William Shepherd
Studio:Cinesound Productions
Distributor:British Empire Films
Runtime:92 minutes
Country:Australia
Language:English
Budget:£21,000[1] [2]

Mr. Chedworth Steps Out is a 1939 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall starring Cecil Kellaway. Kellaway returned to Australia from Hollywood to make the film, which features an early screen appearance by Peter Finch.

It was the fifteenth feature film from Hall and Cinesound Productions.[3] Hall later said "I think that we made a prettygood picture."[4]

The film was released in the United States by Astor Pictures Corp. in 1943, retitled as Forged Money.

Plot summary

A mild-mannered clerk, George Chedworth, is married to the snobbish, nagging Julie, and has four children: gambling addict Arthur, beautiful Gwen, teenage singer Susie and young Fred. Chedworth lends money to Arthur to cover his gambling debts to a bookmaker, and is persuaded by the bookmaker on a long-shot wager. Chedworth is then fired from his job after 24 years of service. He is given a compensatory employment as a night watchman, and stumbles upon some money hidden by gangsters and an old printing press.

Chedworth uses the money to improve his situation. He wins a fortune from an accidental racing bet and from some apparently worthless gold mining shares sold to him by some crooks, including Arthur's boss Leon Fencott. Chedworth moves into a large house, unaware the money he discovered was counterfeit. Fencott is the head of the forgers.

When Arthur tries to pass off one of his forged bank notes to Fencott, the gangsters come after the money and kidnap Chedworth. They are arrested by Brian Carford, a federal agent who has been romancing Gwen and watching Chedworth to see if he is a forger. Chedworth gets to keep his legitimate fortune and Susie wins a singing competition.

Cast

Production

Development

The script was based on the English novel, Mr Chedworth Hits Out (1936) by F Morton Howard.[7]

It was intended as the first of a projected £200,000 five-film program by Cinesound Productions, the others being Gone to the Dogs (1939), Robbery Under Arms, The Further Adventures of Dad and Dave (which became Dad Rudd, MP 1940), and The Haunted House.[8] Robbery Under Arms and The Haunted House were never made.

The film was specifically designed as a vehicle for Cecil Kellaway. He had been working in Hollywood following the success of It Isn't Done (1937) but agreed to come back to Australia especially to make the film at the request of Ken G. Hall. "He was getting much more money than we had offered him but he felt that he owed us something", said Hall.[9] [10]

Kellaway was under contract to RKO so Cinesound had to get their permission to borrow him for the film. It was thought this was the first time the Hollywood studios had done that for one of their actors to appear in an Australian film. He was borrowed for four months.[11]

Kellaway later said he was attracted to the lead role:

It is the part of a human being, not a screen stereotype, for 'Mr. Chedworth' is fighting a battle of circumstances. A lonely, down-trodden little man, he is fighting to uphold his inner better self. It will carry a message to every home, because it depicts the strange fact that it is in our homes we find our harshest critics. There is drama and comedy delightfully combined, when George Chedworth, reclaiming himself as a man, becomes at last the head of his house, and . . . 'steps out![12]

Support roles

The part of Cecil Kellaway's youngest daughter was played by Jean Hatton, a young singer who was brought to the attention of Ken G. Hall after she won a Deanna Durbin talent quest. She was signed by Cinesound to a long-term contract, later appearing in Come Up Smiling.[13] Her part in the film was written especially for her.[14] She sings two songs during the film's climax, "If It Rains, Who Cares" and "Lo, Hear the Gentle Lark", which was staged in a massive 40-foot set build for the film replicating a radio station.[12]

Rita Pauncefort, who plays Kellaway's nagging wife, was a highly experienced actor of stage and film.[15] She had first acted opposite Cecil Kellaway in South Africa in 1914.[16]

Joan Deering, who plays the ingenue, had never acted on screen before but had a strong theatrical background, having toured with revue companies in England and South Africa. She was English and moved to Australia in 1935 after touring with Frank Neil's pantomime company. Ken G. Hall had met her socially and suggested she screen test.[17] Peter Finch was cast after the impression he made in Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938).[18]

Shooting

Kellaway arrived back in Australia in early October 1938[19] and shooting took place through that month to November.[20]

Most of the film was shot in Cinesound's studios at Bondi with some location work at Lapstone Hill[21] and Sydney Girls High School.[22] A farewell ball to celebrate the end of shooting was held in December.[23]

There is a line in the film where Cecil Kellaway scolds his son (Peter Finch) for betting on horses. During filming this caused the crew to burst out laughing because Kellaway was known as a keen gambler. "He had his mind on the racetrack all the time", said Hall. "As soon as I'd say 'Cut!' he'd be off like a rabbit up a bank and out the back to the radio to hear what had won the last. He was a mad punter."[24]

Costumes were designed by Thelma Afford, wife of top Australian writer Max Afford.[25]

Hall was paid £30 a week to direct while Frank Harvey was paid £20 a week over four weeks to write it. Kellaway's fee was £500, covering eight weeks.[2]

Release

Box office

The film was not one of Cinesound's biggest successes but reportedly made "a comfortable profit".[1]

Critical

Reviews were positive.[26] [27] [28]

Variety said:

Ken G. Hall's latest should find high trade in the home field, with the possibility of a British break as well.. However, there's little market seen for the U. S. Cecil Kellaway, the marquee lure, turns in a corking performance, while Hall has given class direction to the production. Jean Hatton, winner of a Deanna Durbin contest, has vast possibilities; she knows how to act and has an excellent singing voice. The rest of the cast, with the exception of Rita Patmcefort, who overplays, turns In good performances. Dialog is crisp; story, however, is weak and brings in everything, including gangsters. Yet Hall has managed to pace the picture briskly throughout... Camera is first class; sets are splendid and the whole production generally carries a high production standard. [29]
The Age called it a "lively, well made picture".[30]

In later years the film has come to be regarded as one of Ken G Hall's best. Paul Byrnes later wrote for Australian Screen Online that:

Mr Chedworth Steps Out has all the usual elements of a Cinesound entertainment – four or five plotlines, a master villain, even a couple of songs... but it has one element that lifts it above the pack – Cecil Kellaway... His performance as the little man who learns to assert himself is one of the best in all the Cinesound films, and Ken Hall's direction is a large part of that success. The film is put together with great care and confidence, rather than the haste that mars some of Hall's work. Kellaway was playing Hall's favourite type of hero, a nobody who becomes a somebody. He was similar to the man he plays in It Isn’t Done (1937) but more downtrodden, and thus capable of more anger and passion. Once again, the film has the feel of a Frank Capra film, but this time, Kellaway is able to give us a much more shaded performance, tinged with bitterness and a hint of bile. Whether the film remains a comedy is debatable. Rita Pauncefort's portrayal of Mrs Chedworth as a nagging social climber and spendthrift is beyond satire, heading for something more caustic. The undeclared class warfare in a lot of Ken Hall's films becomes full-scale attack in this film – Mrs Chedworth is a nouveau riche shrew, the object of a special scorn that's not so much humorous as contemptuous... the depiction of Mrs Chedworth feels like the settling of some deep personal score [by Hall].[31]

Proposed remake

The US rights were purchased by Casino Films in New York who at one stage announced they were considering possibly filming a remake. However this never happened.[32]

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 185.
  2. Web site: Australian National University. The History of an Australian Film Production Company: Cinesound, 1932-70. Andrew Franklin. Pike. 245-247.
  3. News: Cinesound's 15 Features. . . Brisbane . 17 November 1938 . 28 March 2015 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
  4. Cinema Papers. Ken G. Hall. 1 January 1974. Phillip. Taylor. 85. interview done on 25 October 1972
  5. News: BOY ACTOR CHOSEN. . . 27 September 1938 . 15 August 2012 . 13 . National Library of Australia.
  6. News: TO MAKE SCREEN DEBUT. . . Hobart, Tas. . 15 October 1938 . 15 August 2012 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
  7. News: NEW FICTION REVIEWED. . . Melbourne . 2 May 1936 . 18 March 2015 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
  8. News: 40 FILMS A YEAR. . . Melbourne . 9 August 1938 . 16 August 2012 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
  9. Philip Taylor, 'Ken G. Hall', Cinema Papers January 1973 p 85
  10. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52226358?searchTerm=%22chedworth%20steps%20out%22&searchLimits=l-category=Article%7Ccategory%3AArticle|||l-decade=193|||sortby=dateAsc 'SOME NEW ATTRACTIONS', Examiner (Launceston), Saturday 17 September 1938 p 1
  11. News: CECIL KELLAWAY FOR LOCAL FILM. . . NSW . 1 July 1938 . 18 March 2015 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
  12. News: Thursday's Film Features Page. . . Brisbane . 23 February 1939 . 1 August 2012 . 6 Section: Second Section . National Library of Australia.
  13. 'Contract For Jean Hatton', The Courier-Mail (Brisbane), Thursday 15 June 1939 p 12
  14. News: SCREEN STARS WHO EARN THEIR MONEY. . . Melbourne . 2 December 1939 . 15 August 2012 . 2 Supplement: The Argus Week-end Magazine . National Library of Australia.
  15. News: NAGGING WIFE PORTRAYED. . . 17 November 1938 . 18 March 2015 . 33 . National Library of Australia.
  16. News: Screen Tare. . . NSW . 25 November 1938 . 18 March 2015 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  17. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38716925?searchTerm=%22joan%20deering%22%20cinesound&searchLimits= 'Cinesound Presents Two New Girls'
  18. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17550925?searchTerm=%22chedworth%20steps%20out%22&searchLimits=l-category=Article%7Ccategory%3AArticle|||l-decade=193|||sortby=dateAsc 'PETER FINCH IS SET FOR A FILM CAREER', The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 22 December 1938 p 23
  19. News: Entertainments GINESOUND FILM With Cecil Kellaway. . . Melbourne . 17 September 1938 . 15 August 2012 . 29 . National Library of Australia.
  20. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17530638 "AUSTRALIA MAKES ANOTHER FILM."
  21. News: ON THE "LOT" WITH "MR. CHEDWORTH.". . . 10 November 1938 . 15 August 2012 . 33 . National Library of Australia.
  22. News: FILM SCENES AT GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL. . . 22 November 1938 . 28 March 2015 . 9 . National Library of Australia.
  23. News: FILM PLAYERS AT DANCE. . . 8 December 1938 . 15 August 2012 . 30 . National Library of Australia.
  24. Philip Taylor, 'Ken G. Hall', Cinema Papers January 1974 p 85
  25. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36591231?searchTerm=%22chedworth%20steps%20out%22&searchLimits=l-category=Article%7Ccategory%3AArticle|||l-decade=193|||sortby=dateAsc 'Designing Frocks for Australian Films', The Advertiser (Adelaide), Thursday 10 November 1938 p10
  26. News: NEW SHOWS. . . Adelaide . 8 May 1939 . 15 August 2012 . 20 . National Library of Australia.
  27. News: "MR. CHEDWORTH STEPS OUT.". . . 10 April 1939 . 15 August 2012 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
  28. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19390515&id=IrVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MpcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7207,1726009 Review at The Age
  29. https://archive.org/details/variety134-1939-05/page/n125/mode/1up?q=%22ben+lyon%22+%22i+killed+the+count%22 Review of Mr Chedworth Steps Out
  30. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19390515&id=IrVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MpcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7207,1726009&hl=en Review in The Age 15 May 1939
  31. http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/mr-chedworth-steps-out/notes/ Paul Byrnes, "Mr Chedworth Steps Out" Australian Screen Online
  32. "Ben Hecht Will Direct 'G String Murder Case': Three-Way Contract Set Big Camp Shows Planned 'Maxwell House' Debated Oakie Will Go South 'Chedworth' Remake Eyed" Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 21 November 1941: 22.