The Private Secretary (1935 film)

The Private Secretary is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edward Everett Horton, Barry MacKay, Judy Gunn and Oscar Asche.[1] It is an adaptation of the play The Private Secretary by Charles Henry Hawtrey. It was made at Twickenham Studios.

The Private Secretary
Original British trade ad
Directed byHenry Edwards
Written byGeorge Broadhurst
Arthur Macrae
H. Fowler Mear
Based onThe farce by Charles Hawtrey (The Private Secretary) and the book by Von Moser (Der Bibliotheker)
Produced byJulius Hagen
StarringEdward Everett Horton
Barry MacKay
Judy Gunn
Oscar Asche
CinematographySydney Blythe
William Luff
Music byW.L. Trytel (uncredited)
Production
company
Julius Hagen Productions
Distributed byTwickenham Film Distributors Ltd (UK)
Release date
  • September 1935 (1935-09) (UK)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Premise

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A timid and dim-witted clergyman is duped into helping a playboy avoid his creditors, inherit his uncle's fortune and get the girl.

Cast

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Critical reception

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TV Guide felt the comedy of the Victorian farce "didn't translate well into later times. Horton and Sim (in a secondary role) serve as the film's saving graces with some nice comic moments",[2] and Sky Movies agreed, calling the film "a mostly dismal British farce stickily directed by former acting superstar Henry Edwards, but held back from disaster by the pawkily amusing performances of Edward Everett Horton, dithering delightfully in the leading role, and Alastair Sim, offering a lugubrious contribution as Mr Nebulae."[3]

References

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  1. ^ "The Private Secretary (1936)". BFI. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  2. ^ "The Private Secretary". TV Guide.
  3. ^ "The Private Secretary". Find and Watch.
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