Letting in the Sunshine

This was part of a DVD box set on British comedies from the 1930's. I'd never heard of star Albert Burdon before (he didn't star in too many films but seems to have been very successful on the stage). His character is a cheerful persona, kind of a "cheeky chappy" who loves to provoke and break the rules whilst toiling away at his window cleaning job. "Letting in the Sunshine" is a mix of slapstick and wordplay. You can see the influence of silent film in a number of slapstick scenes (but, unlike in silent films, there's lot of funny sound effects). You see many typical elements of the talkies of the early 30's, which focused on verbal comedy and music. This film is a real mix of genres. It's not truly a musical (there aren't many songs), and the musical numbers are not elaborately staged like in American films of the same period. But the songs are sweetly cheery, and the musical number at the end of the film is enthusiastic and fun. I switched off the DVD smiling about my discovery of this little film.