Say It with Flowers

To my mind the director John Baxter is one of the great directors of quota quickie.He has been recognised by a book and a season at the bfi south bank.Many of his films have a familiar theme namely the community getting together and helping out someone in trouble.In this film it is Mary Clare who is a flower seller who becomes sick and is in danger of losing her livelihood.The community rally together and hold a benefit show for her at the local music hall.This features music hall greats such as Florrie Force and Marie Kendall.It is truly fascinating.Try and watch the companion film ,Music Hall.which has a similar sort of film also made by Baxter at Twickenham.

Another Julius Hagen musical but here the rather pallid story of a flower seller is completely eclipsed by the opportunity to see three great music hall stars perform the songs that had made them famous. It occurs in the last 20 minutes:

Charles Coborn sings: "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo".

Marie Kendall sings: "Did Your First Wife Ever Do That?"

Florrie Forde sings a medley including: She's a Lassie from Lancashire", "Down at the Old Bull and Bush" "Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?" "Hold Your Hand Out Naughty Boy" "Oh Oh Antonio" "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag" "It's A Long Way To Tipperary"

The three were still in great form performing songs that had done much to keep up the spirits of troops in WW1. Florrie Forde indeed died in 1940 on tour entertaining WW2 troops

Thank you to Talking Pictures TV for screening it

When a London market worker and his flower-seller wife fall on hard times, their friends in the market get together to raise money for them via a benefit concert. The director is the prolific John Baxter (best film the classic "Love on the Dole"). He made a number of superior quota quickies in the early 30s - this one an outstanding social document. It's set in a London market - the opening sequence is an elegant one, trailing along market stalls to catch classic Cockney cross-talk before pitching into the main story-line, underlining the insecurity of life without a safety net. The stars of the concert are music-hall greats - Charles Coborn ("The man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo"), Florrie Forde ("Has anybody here seen Kelly?") and the superb musical comedy star Marie Kendall, grandmother of the lovely but short-lived Kay Kendall. (You can see where Kate got the talent from), Oh yes and the tap-dancer is my mum, Vi Kearney.