Kino Quickies – Details, episodes & analysis

For our first film at a venue other than the Kino, Bermondsey, we were delighted to be hosted on October 8th 2023 at the gorgeous Garden Cinema for our screening of The Gaunt Stranger (1938).

Based on a novel by Edgar Wallace, The Gaunt Stranger is the story of a mysterious criminal called "The Ringer" who, although supposedly dead, has threatened to kill a corrupt lawyer called Maurice Meister at a specific time and date.

Directed by Walter Forde with a screenplay by Sidney Gilliat, The Gaunt Stranger has a small place in history for being the first film to be produced at Ealing studios by Michael Balcon. It stars Mr Jessie Matthews himself, Sonnie Hale, along with Patrick Barr, Alexander Knox, Wilfrid Lawson and the ever fragrant & delightful Patricia Roc.

Our guest for the Q&A was Dr Adrian Smith of the University of Sussex - not this Dr Adrian Smith of the University of Sussex or even this one but this one.

Adrian is on Twitter, has two podcasts - The Wild, Wild Podcast & Second Features and recently published a book about the late Norman J Warren.

Buy your very own copy of the

Scrooge (1935) was the subject of our Christmas special and the last Kino Quickie of the season.

It's the first ever talkie version of A Christmas Carol and stars Seymour Hicks, a man who had played the part hundreds of times before, on both stage and screen.

It's not this Seymour Hicks though.

Our guest for the Q&A was the playright and screenwriter, Ming Ho.

Follow Ming on Twitter.

The Kino Cinema was packed to the rafters which made the second half of the Q&A all the more enjoyable as it was given over to some festive community singing led by a top secret mystery special guest.

The best way to watch Scrooge (unless you happen to catch it on Talking Pictures TV or TPTV Encore) is to buy the DVD of the 1951 Alastair Sim version from Renown Films, because the Seymour Hicks version is included as a bonus extra feature.

Ming's research for the Q&A went above and beyond and she turned up all sorts of interesting nuggets of information much of which was found in THIS BOOK. Unfortuantley it's extremely expensive at the moment but is available to read in the BFI Library.

She also stumbled upon this - a record of the time Seymour Hicks's beloved wife and business partner, Ellaline Terris, appeared on This is Your Life.

Your hosts at Kino Quickies screenings are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper.

Subscribe to our other film related podcast, Soho Bites and our non-film related one Mural Morsels.

Watch Lawrence's online talk about quota quickies - its title is controversial! Quota Quickies: the worst films ever made?

Follow Lawrence on Twitter.

Follow Kino Quickies on Twitter and

The fourth film in the Kino Quickies season, screened on April 24th 2022, was Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street from 1936.

Directed by George "King of the Quickies" King and starring Tod Slaughter, it's the well known story of the murderous barber who polishes off his victims who are then processed into pie filling by his next door neighbour. Yum!

Our specially invited expert guest for the post show Q&A, Jade Evans, had a minor disaster the night before the screening when she tested positive for the dreaded Covid. Luckily, we had the technology to enable her to attend remotely via the wonders of the internet and the sound quality was only slightly affected.

Follow Jade on Twitter or Instagram and find links to her research HERE.

Your hosts are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper

None of the prints of Sweeney Todd, as far as we can tell, are in perfect condition but if you'd like to watch a scratchy copy online, you can do that HERE.

And this British Pathe short feature starring Tod Slaughter is hoot!

Book tickets for any of the films in the Kino Quickies season HERE

Subscribe to our other film related podcast, Soho Bites.

On April 7th, our very own Lawrence Napper gave an online talk for Westminster Libraries called, Quota Quickies: the worst films ever made? If you missed it, all is not lost as it will soon be posted to YouTube. Watch this space for more details.

Follow Lawrence on Twitter

Follow Kino Quickies on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Here's a very good article explaining what Quota Quickies are from the Cinema History Blog

Well that was fascinating but now I want to find out more

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Kino Quickies podcast. It comes out a couple of days after each screening.

They don't just screen ninety year old films at the Kino - they show recent ones too!  Keep up to date...

The third film in the Kino Quickies season, screened on April 10th 2022, was The Phantom Light from 1935.

An early film from director, Michael Powell, this is the story of spooky goings on in an isolated lighthouse off the remote Welsh coast.

Our specially invited expert guest for the post show Q&A was broadcaster, composer and silent accompanist, Neil Brand.

Follow Neil on Twitter

Your hosts are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper

The film is available to buy on DVD from our friends at Network Distribution.

Book tickets for any of the films in the Kino Quickies season HERE

On April 7th, our very own Lawrence Napper gave an online talk for Westminster Libraries called, Quota Quickies: the worst films ever made? If you missed it, all is not lost as it will soon be posted to YouTube. Watch this space for more details.

Follow Lawrence on Twitter

Follow Kino Quickies on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Here's a very good article explaining what Quota Quickies are from the Cinema History Blog

Well that was fascinating but now I want to find out more

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Kino Quickies podcast. It comes out a couple of days after each screening.

They don't just screen ninety year old films at the Kino - they show recent ones too!  Keep up to date with their Twitter, Instagram and website.

Twiddling the knobs for this recording was Robin Warren AKA Robin the Fog - investigate him on his website and follow him on Twitter.

We are delighted to have received support from Talking Pictures TV - the UK's best TV station.  You can find them on your television on these channels: Sky 328, Freeview 82, Freesat 306 and Virgin 445 and register for their online catch-up service, TPTV Encore

You can...

The second film in the Kino Quickies season, screened on March 27th 2022, was Death at Broadcasting House from 1934.

In the futuristic and glamorous surroundings of the BBC's brand new headquarters, an actor is murdered while performing in a radio drama, live on air, before the unsuspecting ears of millions of listeners.

Our specially invited expert guest for the post show Q&A was Dr Josephine Botting, curator at the BFI National Archive

Follow Josephine Botting on Twitter

Your hosts are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper

Death at Broadcasting House was based on a novel of the same name by Val Gielgud and Holt Marvell.  The book is now out of print and very expensive  to buy second hand - however, the story was serialised for the Sydney Morning Herald in 1934 and you can read this (unfortunately low quality) scan of that serialistion HERE.

The film is available to buy on DVD from our friends at Network Distribution.

In the film, one of the key plot points is the that the murder happens to be recorded on a new piece of technology called a Blattnerphone, although the device itself is never shown in the movie.  The audience at the Kino was treated to a picture of one. You can see that and hear an example of an actual Blatterphone recording HERE

The Inventor of the Blattnerphone was Ludwig Blattner - an interesting man who was a major player in early UK film. 

Book tickets for any of the films in the Kino Quickies season HERE

Jo Botting runs monthly screenings of interesting, obscure and rare vintage films on Tuesday evenings at the BFI.  Details HERE

Follow BFI on Twitter

Our in-house Quota Quickie expert, Dr Lawrence is giving an online talk on April 7th about…. yes you guessed it…. Quota Quickies!  It’s called, Quota Quickies: the worst films ever made? and you can register for free

To kick off the Kino Quickies season on March 13th 2022, we picked a sure fire crowd pleaser. The Ghost Camera is a comedy / mystery / thriller starring Henry Kendall as John Gray, Ida Lupino as May Elton and John Mills as her brother, Ernest.

When John Gray finds a camera on the back seat of his car, he develops the film to try to find out the owner. What he discovers sets him on the path to danger, adventure and, perhaps, love.

The film was directed by Bernard Vorhaus and edited by a very young David Lean.

Our specially invited expert guest for the post show Q&A was film critic & historian, Pam Hutchinson.

Book tickets for any of the films in the Kino Quickies season HERE

Here's a very good article explaining what Quota Quickies are from the Cinema History Blog

Well that was fascinating but now I want to find out more

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Kino Quickies podcast. It comes out a couple of days after each screening.

Follow Kino Quickies on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

They don't just screen ninety year old films at the Kino - they show recent ones too! Keep up to date with their Twitter, Instagram and website.

Your hosts are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper

Riding the faders and twiddling the knobs for this recording was Robin Warren AKA Robin The Fog who has a busy and diverse portfolio of work. Find him on Twitter or on his website and you can also hear him on Resonance FM.

Follow Pam on Twitter

Follow Lawrence on Twitter

We are delighted to have...

Welcome to this preview episode of the Kino quickies podcast.

Book tickets for any of the films in the Kino Quickies season HERE

Here's a very good article explaining what Quota Quickies are from the Cinema History Blog

Well that was fascinating but now I want to find out more

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Kino Quickies podcast.  It comes out a couple of days after each screening.

Follow Kino Quickies on Twitter for updates

You can even follow us on Facebook!

The Kino have a website too and they’re also on Twitter and even Instagram

Your hosts are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper

Information about the special guests can be found in the listings below.

A surprisingly funny murder / comedy /mystery drama, it stars Henry Kendall, Ida Lupino and a very young John Mills. Our special guest for the post screening Q&A is film critic & historian, Pam Hutchinson.

Running time: 66 mins

Watch a clip HERE

A murder mystery set and partly shot at the BBC's (then) brand new headquarters. An actor is murdered whilst performing live on air before the shocked ears of millions of listeners. Josephine Botting, curator of the BFI National Archive is our guest for the Q&A.

Running time: 71 mins

Watch a clip HERE

Directed by a young Michael Powell and starring Gordon Harker and Binnie Hale, the action centres on an isolated lighthouse where the previous lighthouse keeper has been mysteriously murdered. Composer and silent film accompanist. Neil Brand, joins us for the Q&A.

Running time: 76 mins

Watch a clip HERE

Anybody fancy a pie? Tod Slaughter stars in this ripe melodrama based on his...

The cups all those millions of fans out there of the Kino Quickies mascot, Henry Kendall, runneth over this day, because Death on the Set treats us to a double dose of him.

Our Henry plays two unlikeable men - a very unpleasent film director and his drunken and disreputable lookalike - who are locked in a cycle of crime.

It's based on a book by Victor MacClure which is now out of print but you can buy it online if you sell all of your belongings.

Our guest for the Q&A is Richard Farmer, a researcher at Bristol University. He is currently researching UK film studios as part of a wider project called Studio Tec.

During the Q&A we displayed two interesting maps which show the locations of all the film studios in and around London in the 1930s. See them here on the website of the late, great Roland-François Lack.

Follow Richard and the Studio Tec project on twitter

Your hosts at Kino Quickies screenings are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper,

Book tickets for Scrooge - THE LAST KINO QUICKIE OF THE SEASON HERE

Subscribe to our other film related podcast, Soho Bites and our non-film related one Mural Morsels.

Watch Lawrence's online talk about quota quickies - its title is controversial! Quota Quickies: the worst films ever made?

Follow Lawrence on Twitter.

Follow Kino Quickies on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Join our MAILING LIST and never miss a screening again.

Here's a very good article explaining what Quota Quickies are from the

A Fire Has Been Arranged is the first full length feature starring the comedy musical duo, Flanagan & Allen.

The first of two films in the season to be directed by Leslie Hiscott, it also stars Robb Wilton and a 35 year old (but perpetually middle-aged) Alastair Sim. It was, like many quota quickies, produced by Julius Hagan at Twickenham Studios.

Our guest for the Q&A is quota quickie royalty in the form of the author Steve Chibnall, who literally wrote the book on quota quickies. It's called Quota Quickies by Steve Chibnall.

You can buy Quota Quickies by Steve Chibnall on the internet.

And the DVD of A Fire Has Been Arranged is widely available.

In 1978, an elderly Ches Allen appeared on ITV's "Looks Familiar".

Flanagan & Allen singing their most famous song, Underneath the Arches.

Your hosts at Kino Quickies screenings are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper,

Book tickets for all future Kino quickies screening at our ticketing site.

Subscribe to our other film related podcast, Soho Bites and our non-film related one Mural Morsels.

Watch Lawrence's online talk about quota quickies - its title is controversial! Quota Quickies: the worst films ever made?

Follow Lawrence on...

I Lived With You (1933) - a comedy starring Ivor Novello, based on a play that he wrote - is the third film in this second season of Kino Quickies.

Novello plays a homeless Russian prince who meets Gladys Wallis (Ursula Jeans) in the maze at Hampton Court and moves in with her family. His presence in this normal family home has chaotic effects on the whole household. Also starring Ida Lupino as Glad's sister, Ada and Eliot Makeham & Minnie Rayner as her parents, the film was directed by the most prolific director in UK film history, Maurice Elvey.

Our guest for the Q&A is the author John Snelson, who has written extensively about the performing arts and has a new book coming out soon about the history of British musicals.

I Lived With You has been released on DVD by Renown Films. Currently, however, all the copies available online are really expensive, so hopeully it will turn up on Talking Pictures TV and TPTV Encore soon.

Your hosts at Kino Quickies screenings are Dom Delargy and Dr Lawrence Napper,

Book tickets for all future Kino quickies screening at our ticketing site.

Subscribe to our other film related podcast, Soho Bites and our non-film related one Mural Morsels.

Watch Lawrence's online talk about quota quickies - its title is controversial! Quota Quickies: the worst films ever made?

Follow Lawrence on...