- Fanny by Gaslight (film)
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Fanny by Gaslight 
UK promotional posterDirected by Anthony Asquith Produced by Edward Black Written by Michael Sadleir (novel) Doreen Montgomery (screenplay)
Aimée Stuart (additional dialogue)Starring Phyllis Calvert
James Mason
Stewart Granger
John LaurieMusic by Cedric Mallabey Cinematography Jack E. Cox Editing by R.E. Dearing Release date(s) 1944 (UK);
1948 (USA)Running time 107 minutes Country 
United KingdomLanguage English Fanny by Gaslight (US title - Man of Evil) was a 1944 British drama film, produced by Gainsborough Pictures, set in the 1870s and adapted from a novel by Michael Sadleir (also adapted as a 1981 mini-series). It was one of its famous period-set "Gainsborough melodramas". Its US release was delayed for its breaking the Hays Purity Code, and 17 minutes were removed for this release.
Contents
Cast
- Phyllis Calvert as Fanny Hooper
- James Mason as Lord Manderstoke
- Wilfrid Lawson as Chunks
- Stewart Granger as Harry Somerford
- Jean Kent as Lucy Beckett
- Margaretta Scott as Alicia
- Nora Swinburne as Mrs. Hopwood
- Cathleen Nesbitt as Kate Somerford
- Helen Haye as Mrs. Somerford
- John Laurie as William Hopwood
- Stuart Lindsell as Clive Seymour
- Amy Veness as Mrs. Heaviside
- Ann Wilton as Carver
- Guy Le Feuvre as Doctor Lowenthal
- Esma Cannon as Gossping maid
- Ann Stephens as Fanny as a child
- Gloria Sydney as Lucy as a child
- John Turnbull as Magistrate
- Cyril Smith as Publican
- Helen Goss as Polly
- Johnnie Schofield as Joe
- Vi Kaley as Joe's wife
- Peter Jones as New client at The Shades
Plot
Fanny (Phyllis Calvert) finishes at boarding school in 1880 and returns to London, where she witnesses Lord Manderstoke (James Mason) fight and kill her supposed father. She soon learns that her family has run a brothel next door to her home and (on her mother's death) that he was not her real father. She goes to meet her real father - a respected politician - and falls in love with Harry Somerford (Stewart Granger), his advisor. Manderstoke continues to thwart her happiness.
Reception
It was the second most popular film in Britain during 1944 after This Happy Breed.[1]
References
- ^ Reeves p.180
Bibliography
- Reeves, Nicholas. The power of film propaganda: myth or reality?. Continuum, 2003.
External links
Films produced by Gainsborough Pictures The "Gainsborough melodramas" The Man in Grey (1943) · Madonna of the Seven Moons (1944) · Fanny by Gaslight (1944) · The Wicked Lady (1945) · Caravan (1946) · Jassy (1947)Other The Passionate Adventure (1924) · The Rat (1925) · The Triumph of the Rat (1926) · Blighty (1927) · The Constant Nymph (1928) · The First Born (1928) · The Return of the Rat (1929) · Taxi for Two (1929) · Hindle Wakes (1931) · It's a Boy (1933) · Friday the Thirteenth (1933) · Wild Boy (1934) · My Old Dutch (1934) · Oh, Mr Porter! (1937) · Doctor Syn (1937) · Strange Boarders (1938) · The Ghost Train (1941) · I Thank You (1941) · Back-Room Boy (1942) · Uncensored (1942) · Love Story (1944) · Time Flies (1944) · Give Us the Moon (1944) · Bees in Paradise (1944) · Two Thousand Women (1944) · Waterloo Road (1945) · A Place of One's Own (1945) · They Were Sisters (1945) · The Magic Bow (1946) · The Root of All Evil (1947) · Dear Murderer (1947) · Easy Money (1948) · Miranda (1948) · My Brother's Keeper (1948) · It's Not Cricket (1949) · The Huggett family seriesThe films of Anthony Asquith 1920s Shooting Stars • Underground • The Runaway Princess • A Cottage on Dartmoor1930s Tell England • The Lucky Number • Dance Pretty Lady • Unfinished Symphony • Moscow Nights • Pygmalion1940s French Without Tears • Freedom Radio • Quiet Wedding • Cottage to Let • Uncensored • We Dive at Dawn • The Demi-Paradise • Fanny by Gaslight • The Way to the Stars • While the Sun Shines • The Winslow Boy1950s The Woman in Question • The Browning Version • The Importance of Being Earnest • The Final Test • The Net • The Young Lovers • Carrington V.C. • On Such a Night • Orders to Kill • The Doctor's Dilemma • Libel1960s Short films Categories:- English-language films
- 1944 films
- British films
- Black-and-white films
- Gainsborough melodramas
- Gainsborough Pictures films
- Films based on novels
- Films set in the 1850s
- Films set in the 1860s
- Films set in the 1870s
- Films set in Paris
- Films directed by Anthony Asquith
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