To Be A Lady

BFI Most Wanted: the hunt for Britain's missing films

Directed by George King, 1934

The misadventures of a country girl in London, starring silent movie darling Dorothy 'Chili' Bouchier in an early sound role.

Diana (Chili Bouchier) and Jerry (Bruce Lister) are distracted by a kitten.

Credits

Director Production Companies Original Story Scenarist Photography	George King British and Dominions Film Corporation, Paramount British Productions C.H. Nicholson V.E. Powell Henry Harris
Cast: Dorothy Bouchier (Diana Whitcombe); Bruce Lister (Jerry Dean); Charles Cullum (Dudley Chalfont); Vera Boggetti (Countess Delavell); Ena Moon (Annette); Pat Ronald (Justine); Florence Vie (Mrs. Jubb); Tony di Lungo (Manager of Floriol's)
68 mins, 6,191 feet, sound, black & white.

Why are we so keen to find it?

Dorothy 'Chili' Bouchier, aka the 'brunette bombshell' and 'Britain's answer to Clara Bow', was one of the UK's most celebrated actresses of the silent era and one of the few who easily made the transition to sound films. But the celebrity of its star has not prevented this film from going missing, and we want to see this part of her career.

What's it about?

A country innkeeper's daughter comes to London and becomes a hairdresser. In the city she meets a musician and falls in love Unwittingly, she borrows a stolen dress from a friend and finds herself arrested and accused of theft. A near fatal car accident afflicting her musician boyfriend prevents him coming to her aid. When she is released she feels let down by his disappearance and fraternises, again unknowingly, with the man who stole the dress for her friend. In the nick of time, and before urban life can smear her country honour any more, the musician comes to her rescue and reveals the true state of affairs.

Last seen?

The film was registered in the UK by Paramount in the July of 1934 and reviewed by The Kinematograph Weekly in August of that year, although that publication notes that no release date had yet been set. A review in The Picturegoer in January 1935 cites the film as one that could be seen that year but again gives no release date.

What else do we know about it?

It was filmed in the June of 1934 at Elstree Studios and on location, including at a river near Shepperton. The film provided the first editing job for the American Elmo Williams, who later moved on to Hollywood, winning an Oscar for his editing on High Noon (1952).

Does anything survive?

The BFI Stills, Posters and Designs collections hold five photographs related to the film. There are also 23 photographs related to the film among the 'Papers of Chili Bouchier' collection held at the Women's Library at London Metropolitan University.

BFI Special Collections holds a 'Press Sheet and Ad-Sales Catalogue' which includes images from the film and reproductions of cinema lobby cards.

Reviews

The Picturegoer (26 January 1935) was not impressed, finding the plot "unconvincing", the acting merely "moderate" and suggesting that "the wholly obvious theme is indifferently directed". The Kinematograph Weekly (2 August 1934) identified similar flaws but was generally more positive about the film. Its reviewer found value in the acting of Bouchier, Cullum and Boggetti, and added that the lighting and photography were "well up to standard". The highest praise was retained for the film's staging and its good range of settings, including the "lavish" apartment scenes.

James Piers Taylor, Film Historian

You can find more about British films of the early 1930s, including entries on surviving films and video clips for users in UK schools, colleges, universities and public libraries, at BFI Screenonline. You can also view similar titles at the BFI Mediatheques.