French Leave is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Madeleine Carroll, Sydney Howard and Arthur Chesney. It was made at British and Dominions Elstree Studios.Wood p.69. It is based on a play by Reginald Berkeley, a "light comedy in three acts", set during the First World War. It was remade in 1937 by Norman Lee.
Plot During World War I, Captain's wife Dorothy Glenister finds it hard being separated from her husband, so she travels to France to the village where he's stationed. Dorothy disguises herself as the daughter of a local, which leads to complications when she's suspected of being a German spy.
Cast Madeleine Carroll as Mlle. Juliette / Dorothy Glenister Sydney Howard as Cpl. Sykes Arthur Chesney as General Root Haddon Mason as Captain Harry Glenister Henry Kendall as Lt. George Graham May Agate as Mme. Denaux George Owen as Pvt. Jenks George De Warfaz as Jules Marnier
Critical reception The New York Times called it "a moderately amusing British picturization of the stage farce, "French Leave," with the charming Madeleine Carroll... the photography is sometimes none too clear, but the voices are nicely recorded"; while more recently, TV Guide thought it a "lame comedy...Long and tedious at 60 minutes; the original British cut ran 100 minutes."
References
Bibliography Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927-1939. British Film Institute, 1986.
External links