The Love Match
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Glenn Melvyn (additional dialogue)
| The Love Match | |
|---|---|
.jpg) British quad poster | |
| Directed by | David Paltenghi |
| Written by | Geoffrey Orme (screenplay) Glenn Melvyn (additional dialogue) |
| Based on | play The Love Match by Glenn Melvyn |
| Produced by | Maclean Rogers |
| Starring | Arthur Askey |
| Cinematography | Arthur Grant |
| Edited by | Joseph Sterling |
| Music by | Wilfred Burns |
Production companies | Beaconsfield Productions Group 3 |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £174,991 (UK) [1] |
The Love Match is a 1955 British black and white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Arthur Askey, Glenn Melvyn, Thora Hird and Shirley Eaton.[2] A football-mad railway engine driver and his fireman are desperate to get back in time to see a match. It was based on the 1953 play of the same name by Glenn Melvyn, one of the stars of the film.[3] A TV spin-off series, Love and Kisses, appeared later in 1955.[4]
- Arthur Askey as Bill Brown
- Glenn Melvyn as Wally Binns
- Thora Hird as Sal Brown
- Shirley Eaton as Rose Brown
- James Kenney as Percy Brown
- Edward Chapman as Mr Longworth
- Danny Ross as Alf Hall
- Robb Wilton as Mr Muddlecombe
- Anthea Askey as Vera
- Patricia Hayes as Emma Binns
- Iris Vandeleur as Mrs Entwhistle
- William Franklyn as Arthur Ford
- Leonard Williams as aggressive man
- Peter Swanwick as Mr Hall
- Dorothy Blythe as Waitress
- Reginald Hearne as Police Constable Wilfred
- Maurice Kaufmann as Harry Longworth
- Janet Davies as motorist
Production
The film was an early appearance from Shirley Eaton.[5]
Release
Box Office
According to the National Film Finance Corporation, the film made a comfortable profit.[6][7] According to Kinematograph Weekly it was a "money maker" at the British box office in 1955.[8]
The reported profit was £34,000.[9]
Critical reception
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "good", writing: "Good, noisy north country comedy. Old jokes notch remarkably high scoring rate."[10]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Although this is an admirable enough comedy, it is also one of those unforgivably patronising pictures that bourgeois British film makers believed presented an authentic picture of working-class life. Arthur Askey stars as a football crazy railway employee whose passion for a team of no-hopers lands him in all sorts of trouble. Struggling against a shortage of genuinely funny situations, the cast does well to keep the action alive. The highlight is Askey's heckling of the referee, a wonderful moment of football hooliganism."[11]
TV Guide noted a "highly enjoyable farce."[12]
Britmovie called it a "boisterous Lancashire comedy with a rapid succession of old jokes."[13]
