After the Ball (1957)

Interesting facts

After the Ball is a 1957 British biographical film directed by Compton Bennett and starring Pat Kirkwood, Laurence Harvey and Jerry Stovin. It was written by Peter Blackmore and Hubert Gregg. It portrays the life of the stage performer Vesta Tilley.

Production

Kirkwood was approached to make a film of Tilley's life. She wrote in her memoirs, "I was surprised that the producers had chosen this story rather than the more dramatic and human one of Marie Lloyd, which I much preferred." Kirkwood felt that, "The trouble with the 'Vesta Tilley' story was that there was none! She became a star when she was five and stayed in that position all her life; married Sir Walter de Freece; was never ill and, so far as…

It was made at Beaconsfield Studios in October 1956 with sets designed by the art director Norman G. Arnold.

"I did my best to find some human quality in the character but ended up disliking her," wrote Kirkwood. She added that during filming she felt the movie "is going to be a 'stinker', and so it would have been without some of the songs and a truly moving scene, thanks to Hubert, when Vesta Tilley retired. We were both glad when the film was finished."

Peter Rogers says the film was made because James Woolf wanted a vehicle for Pat Kirkwood and Laurence Harvey. Rogers said Kirkwood "wasn't easy to work with." The film was part of a slate of six to eight movies costing $2.8 million from producer Peter Rogers which also included Time Lock and The Vicious Circle.

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