Evergreen

It wasn't only MGM making musicals in the 1930s, and this sparkling Jessie Matthews vehicle was one of Britain's best efforts.

It wasn't only MGM making musicals in the 1930s, and this sparkling Jessie Matthews vehicle was one of Britain's best efforts. Adapted from a hit stage show and directed and produced by two old Birmingham friends of Oscar Deutsch (Victor Saville and Michael Balcon), it's the fanciful tale of a young hopeful who rises to the top by impersonating her mother.

Before the main feature there's Another Happy and Interesting Day (dir: David Naden, 1982), set in the same period. Using extracts from the diaries of Sam Clayton, it's a vivid snapshot of a Willenhall couple who did their courting at movies like Evergreen.

With thanks to the Media Archive for Central England.