Cheer Boys Cheer (1939)

Interesting facts

Cheer Boys Cheer is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Nova Pilbeam, Edmund Gwenn, Jimmy O'Dea, Graham Moffatt, Moore Marriott and Peter Coke.

Production

The film was made by Ealing Studios, almost a year after Michael Balcon had taken over from Basil Dean as head of production. Filming began in late March 1939, after director Walter Forde spent a week travelling hundreds of miles visiting breweries throughout England, conducting research and scouting locations. Ultimately, the largest stage at Ealing Studios was used, with a fully functional brewery and yard constructed.

Nova Pilbeam was best known as a child actress and had last been seen by audiences in Alfred Hitchcock's Young and Innocent (1937). She had recently married Pen Tennyson, a promising young film director who had recently completed his first film for Ealing, There Ain't No Justice (1939)

The film was produced in the months leading up to World War Two with the arrogant, uncompromising attitude of Nazi Germany conveyed with Ironside's dictatorial owner, who is seen reading Mein Kampf in one scene. In contrast, Greenleaf is a clear allegory for pre-war Great Britain, with pastoral imagery conjured by the brewery's location and name and a democratic attitude to managing workers.

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