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After the Ball (1957 film)
After the Ball is a 1957 British biographical film directed by Compton Bennett and starring Pat Kirkwood, Laurence Harvey and Jerry Stovin.[1][2] It was written by Peter Blackmore and Hubert Gregg. It portrays the life of the stage performer Vesta Tilley.[3] Cast
ProductionIt was made at Beaconsfield Studios with sets designed by the art director Norman G. Arnold. Critical receptionThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The problems of recreating on the screen the life of great artists is a constant one. On the one hand it is impossible to convey directly the quality of their artistic achievement; on the other hand it is difficult, without extravagant fictionalisation, to find much drama in a life so unsensational as that of Vesta Tilley (1864–1952). ...Pat Kirkwood performs Vesta Tilley's songs well and wears male costume with rare success; though she can hardly capture the quality Grein described: "Her face was like a city in illumination". Tame and artless though the film in general is, Pat Kirkwood's performance, the shameless sentimentality, the associations with the great music-hall days and above all, the marvellous old songs carry it along quite well."[4] Picturegoer wrote: "If Britain must make musicals I'll gladly settle for this kind of Edwardian froth. It's a sugary, sentimental story of music-hall star Vesta Tilley. Very English, very kindly and a little dull. But at least it's not an embarrassing attempt to imitate a Hollywood musical."[5] Picture Show wrote: "This is a delightfully romantic and colourful music hall film ... It is delightfully and imaginatively directed, convincingly set and is worth seeing."[6] TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars, and wrote, "(Pat) Kirkwood puts zest into the rousing music-hall numbers that made Tilley an enduring star, but the script trudges on and the wait between musical moments may not be worth the reward. It's incomprehensible how director Compton Bennett and writers Hubert Gregg and Peter Blackmore could have made such a yawn out of such a good true story."[7] References
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