The Show Goes On

Gracie Fields made no secret of the fact that she found many of her musical films rather tedious to work on, requiring very little of her in the way of acting and in general terms far less engaging than working with a live audience on stage or in films like 'Holy Matrimony'. That she manages to hide this well in so many of her films is testiment to her talent, where mediocre scripts and inconsequential songs still combine to produce something which if uninspired is generally still satisfying. This film seems to me to be one of the few that is underated and perhaps the most well-balanced of the whole bunch, avoiding mawkishness and with a story which, while fairly predictable, with it's autobiographical overtones manages to stay on the right side of credibility. Yes, the finale may be a little over the top for some, but 'You've got to smile when you say good-bye' sung to a troopship full of Lancashire lads from the deck of the Queen Mary seems to me to capture the very essence of what made Gracie Fields the shining star that she was.