Big Films on Small Gauges 9.5mm

BFI National Archive Curator Rosie Taylor presents two rare comedies of farcical romance, weddings and tomfoolery from the early period of British Lion and Hammer, now only viewable on 9.5mm film. Many of the often upbeat and fun British 'quota quickie' films of the 1930s are now considered lost or unavailable. However, following their theatrical release, a number of these films were released for the home movie market on 9.5mm film. As such, some have survived to this day in private collections. This is a rare opportunity to see two of these comic and farcical films, screened in collaboration with Group 9.5, which only survive on original eighty-year-old 9.5mm film prints; hand-picked by Rosie Taylor, BFI National Archive Curator, also Co-Director at South West Silents and a PhD student at the University of Bristol. In Marry the Girl (Dir. Maclean Rogers, 1935, UK, 48 minutes), starring Sonny Hale and Winifred Shotter, Wally's fiancée breaks off their engagement when he is sued for breach of promise by his former girlfriend's interfering mother, with hilarious consequences. Sporting Love (Dir. J. Elder Wallace, 1936, UK, 36 minutes), starring Stanley Lupino and Laddie Cliff, sees brothers Percy and Peter attempt to woo two ladies and fake marriage so they can inherit money from an aunt to cover their gambling debts.