Those Were the Days (1934 film)

Those Were the Days
Directed byThomas Bentley
Written by
Based onThe Magistrate
by Arthur Wing Pinero
Produced byWalter C. Mycroft
Starring
CinematographyOtto Kanturek
Edited byEdward B. Jarvis
Music byIdris Lewis
Production
company
Distributed byWardour Films
Release date
  • 28 March 1934 (1934-03-28)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Those Were the Days is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Will Hay, Iris Hoey and John Mills. It was based on Arthur Wing Pinero's 1885 farce The Magistrate and was the first of two Hay movies based on Pinero's plays, the other being Dandy Dick. The film also features music hall acts of the time[1] – acts of a type rarely committed to film. It is primarily remembered as Will Hay's first major screen role.[2]

The film was produced and released by British International Pictures and was shot at the company's Elstree Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Duncan Sutherland.

  1. ^ The film features the music hall acts of Lily Morris, Harry Bedford, the gymnasts Gaston & Andree, Sam Curtis and Frank Boston & Betty, together with a blackface performer erroneously claimed to be G. H. Elliott.
  2. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Hay, Will (1888-1949) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.