This film is part of Free
Music Hath Charms
Pratfalls galore in rib-tickling commercial for Bush radios.
Overview
Just married, Mr and Mrs Robinson welcome Mrs Robinson’s mum to the marital home. Cue mother-in-law gags, pointed double-takes and crashing pratfalls galore. All this side-splitting comic entertainment comes courtesy of Bush Radios, manufacturers of the one item in the Robinson household reliably resistant to the slapstick disasters surrounding it.
Some key context is alluded to in the closing titles: film empire Gaumont-British was part-owner of Bush, and well-placed to facilitate production, distribution and exhibition of the cinematic component of the radio firm’s big advertising campaign of 1935. (Fascinatingly, a final add-on title specifying a local dealer is affixed to this print, specific to the Sussex cinema in which it was screened.) The director, Roffe Thompson, is presumably Edward Roffe Thompson, the author and journalist who was married to renowned film critic CA Lejeune; it’s his only known credit for directing a film. John Dighton, on the other hand, was a prolific screenwriter whose name graces, among other things, comedies starring Will Hay and George Formby and many major Ealing films. This short seems to be his first credited script.
Related
The Warning (Gibbs S.R. Toothpaste) The Warning (Gibbs S.R. Toothpaste)
Advert 1941 5 mins
An amazingly complex cinema ad, disguised as a trailer for a film that never existed
Symphony in Colour (Persil Advert) Symphony in Colour (Persil Advert)
Advert 1942 5 mins
Super soft-sell Persil ad, in the guise of a lush Technicolor essay on colour itself.
Every Man His Own Housewife (Persil Advert) Every Man His Own Housewife (Persil Advert)
Advert 1940 3 mins Silent
This propaganda advert encourages housewives to use Persil, the powder that gives “longer life to your linens”.
Let's Ask the Ladies Let's Ask the Ladies
Musical 1937 23 mins
A Co-op window dresser dreams of his mannequins coming to life in this musical fashion fantasy.
Murder in the Air Murder in the Air
Advert 1935 4 mins Silent
“There is nothing you can beat about the Bush”: the wireless wows in this stylish ad for Bush Radio.
Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion
Short documentary 2026 22 mins
Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman and curator Matthew Barrington discuss Frederick Wiseman’s High School with Sandra Hebron.
Hard, Cracked the Wind Hard, Cracked the Wind
Horror 2019 17 mins
A haunting with words is the lure between life and death for a young Cornish poet.
A Last Resort A Last Resort
Comedy 2022 17 mins
Rose is desperate to celebrate her 60th birthday in style, but her daughter Genevieve is struggling to ignore some recent tragic news about her mum.
The Walk The Walk
Drama 2023 12 mins
Adeel Akhtar portrays a man on a weekly trek to his nearest JobCentre, entering a state of purgatory through barriers put in place by the system.
Seagull Seagull
Horror 2022 6 mins
Seagull is a recovering drug addict who is about to have a very strange night on The English Riviera.
Octopus Octopus
2021 13 mins
Upon returning to her home town for a funeral, a young woman reconnects with the friends she left behind.