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Five Guineas a Week

1950s song and dance revue set in a colourful world of boarding houses and coffee bars

Musical 1956 33 mins

Overview

Britain's first musical shot in colour and widescreen (a process called Cosmoscope) is a cabaret-style featurette centred on a group of young people in Chelsea lodgings, watched over by a fatherly caretaker. Eight specially written songs are performed by stage stars of the day – most notably Georgia Brown, who later created the role of Nancy in Oliver!

Filmed over five days at Elephant & Castle swimming baths, this programme-filler was recommended by the trade press for its "imaginative settings, virile and exciting dancing, catchy lyrics and bright fresh performances." The credits boast both W. D. Williams (aka Billy), cinematographer on Women in Love and Gandhi, and Peter Yates, who went on to direct Summer Holiday and Bullitt.

Director

Donald Monat and Jacques de Lane Lea

Featuring

Eileen Elton , Len Mayne and Margot Pritchard

Genres

Musical

Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Subjects

Guest houses

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