St. Martin's Lane

I'm forced by conscience to admit right off that I've been a complete sap for Vivien Leigh since the moment I laid eyes on her sitting between the "Tarlton Twins" on the steps at Twelve Oaks in the opening seconds of GWTW. But in decades of looking to find that =particular= Vivien Leigh again, I was everlastingly frustrated.

I found over time that I had fallen for the Vivien the Vixen, the face that could send men happily off to (civil) war in delirious dreams of marching home to her and "happily ever after" ...and the cocksure certainty of precisely that effect upon any man who dared to gaze into that face for more than a few seconds.

One wonders how much she was aware of the thermonuclear force of that face in real life. Olivier is gone, and so is she, so we'll probably never know. But we do know this: Vivien's best friend as a youngster was the formidable -- and slightly older -- Maureen O'Sullivan, she of "Tarzan the Apeman," and no lightweight herself when it came to bowling men over.

While there are hints of Scarlet in Vivien in "Waterloo Bridge" and "That Hamilton Woman," none of the other films I know of allow her to be the manipulative, coercive, self-obsessed, narcissistic, pouting diva that she was as Libby and Scarlet.

Had Selznick seen rushes or scenes from "Sideawalks..." before or after he cast Leigh in her legend maker? Did he see Scarlet right there in black and white? One wonders. Because Libby =is= Scarlet O'Hara regardless of the surrounding scenery and cockney word-chewing.

The similarities do not end there. Virtually every expression and and mannerism is fully formed and on display in Libby the busker =and= Libby the diva. Harrison is a more sophisticated, straightforward and cynical version of Leslie Howard's Ashley Wilkes. And Thomas Mitchell's Gerald O'Hara looks and sounds a =lot= like Lawton's Charlie Staggers.

I'm forced to think that Selznick =did= see "Sidewalks..." and that he saw it far more than once. But in whatever event, those who caught the Viv bug as badly as I did years ago should be pleased to see her living right up to our expectations after so many other relative disappointments.

Reading the comments above from American users I was surprised about their apparent ignorance of London buskers or street performers.I am sure that they had their equivalent in New York's theatre district in 1938.Vivien was an accomplished dancer (witness her role of Myra the ballet student in "Waterloo Bridge" (1940) with Robert Taylor, and she had the opportunity to show off her terpsichorean ability in this film.I agree however with many of the comments above praising the acting of the three stars, Charlie Laughton, Rex Harrison and of course Viv.Nowadays, from what I can see buskers perform in one place in London's theatre district, at a big paved off area at Covent Garden - (the Health & Safety executive lobby is wide & all powerful!) Obviously this film has been overshadowed by Viv's more famous films, but I awarded it 7/10 as it shows off her versatility.My only criticism was her difficulty in maintaining an authentic Cockney accent but of course drama schools in the 1930s drummed out regional vernacular accents from their students, long before the current trend of casting actors with authentic sounding voices.

My copy is on a "Double Kino Video Feature" along with Henry Fonda's "Wings of the Morning".Users who like this film should also seek out "Storm in a Teacup" who apart from Viv & Rex has Cecil Parker.

This is a wonderful story of love, ambition and sacrifice among the buskers (street performers) of London. Everybody's good, but Laughton and Leigh will stay in your mind and your heart long after you've seen this great film.

Laughton's performance should be studied by every acting student. He gives us a Charlie Staggers who is funny, resourceful, honest and pathetic and with a great capacity to love and do right by others. He is a simple and good man with a deep soul, and his audition in the theatre at the climax of the picture is both sad and uplifting.

Viven Leigh demonstrates a great talent and the characteristics that made her so successful the following year as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind." In this film she begins as a self righteous and petty thief and by the end she has grown to become a highly successful but humbled actress. Leigh carries this change superbly and makes it completely believable. By any measure it is a great performance.

"Sidewalks of London" is also very well written, directed and edited. I rank this as one of the best English language films of the 1930s.

Vivian Leigh charms and beguiles as does Charles Laughton and Rex Harrison,all of them in their innocence and unaffected excellence. A needful but blithe and hopeful era in London, after the internecine slaughter of World War I and the unimaginable evil of World War II and the Holocaust. To experience these three and others in a blitheful , happy episode of innocent merriment will uplift thee.

This is a rare treat for coinnesseurs, a film where three of the greatest actors of Hollywood, Rex Harrison, Charles Laughton, and Vivien Leigh, strut their considerable stuff! They were all still relatively young in 1938, but already you can see the promise of great things to come, for the three, especially Laughton, who was already one of the world's finest actors.

In many ways the story resembles Harrison's later role as Professor Higgins in "My Fair Lady"(1964). Laughton and Leigh play buskers in the street, and Harrison plays a toff who gives Leigh a chance at stardom. Laughton plays quite a similar role to his later "Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939) who falls in love with the girl but recognises he is too ugly for her, and eventually contents himself with her kindness towards him. You can see Laughton's superb acting skills, when she kisses him, and his eyes shine with satisfaction and pride, as they wave goodbye to each other. It is truly a precious moment in films, a moment to savour.

The following year saw the release of Leigh's "Gone With The Wind" and of course "The Wizard of Oz", two of the greatest films ever made, so minor films like this tended to be forgotten quickly. It's worth taking another look, though, at this film, which deserves far more recognition than it got.