British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

Love, Life and Laughter

Synopsis

Lost for nearly a century, this rediscovery offers a wonderful opportunity to fall under the spell of Betty Balfour, Britain’s ‘Queen of Happiness’. Betty Balfour was Britain’s biggest star of the 1920s, so the discovery of one of her key films was a major event. Identified by archivists at EYE Filmmuseum in the Netherlands, this Dutch-language version is incomplete, with footage missing throughout the film. This version was painstakingly pieced together by the BFI National Archive's restoration team with new English intertitles. It restores a truly vivacious performance from Balfour, and adds to the knowledge of director George Pearson, a key figure in British cinema of whose films a bare handful survive.
Telling the story of a pair of working class youngsters with big dreams – a cheery chorus girl and a serious writer – the film toys with expectations, blurring the boundaries of reverie and reality, tragedy and comedy.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Archive Special Presentation - Restoration World premiere

Details

Year
1923
Type of project
Features
Running time
61 mins
Director
George Pearson
Producer
George Pearson
Screenwriter
George Pearson
Director of Photography
A.H. Blake, Percy Strong
Principal cast
Betty Balfour, Harry Jonas, Frank Stanmore

Genre

Drama

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Restored by BFI National Archive at L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna with the collaboration of EYE Filmmuseum. Restoration supported by the Eric Anker-Petersen Charity

A Welsh-Pearson production (1923)

Sales Company

BFI National Archive (Booking Queries)

Berkhamsted
HP4 3TP

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Elenya, the self-proclaimed Elvish Princess, sitting at Hackney Marshes. The Lost Princess of Hackney

Director: Fenton Dyer

Year: 2026

A self-proclaimed Elvish Princess finds herself stranded on our world in the Hackney Marshes. Without any magic to return home, she searches for purpose but develops an unlikely friendship with a sceptical student filmmaker.

Fantasy
man seen from behind carrying a bottle/missile Stop the boats

Director: Aneel Ahmad

Year: 2027

Overwhelmed by grief and anger, a distraught parent arrives at a mosque with a makeshift firebomb, intent on seeking revenge against those believed to be responsible. But as they confront the imam outside the mosque, an unexpected conversation challenges the hatred and begins to unravel the lies fed.

Asian Drama
The Weir cast and director The Weir

Director: Conor McPherson

Year: 2026

Set in a remote pub in rural Ireland, four local men - Jack, Brendan, Jim, and Finbar - gather for their nightly pints. Their routine is disrupted when Finbar introduces Valerie, a newcomer from Dublin. To impress her, the men trade eerie local folklore and ghost stories. However, the mood shifts profoundly when Valerie reveals the tragic, personal reason for her arrival. Far from a simple thriller, the play is a tender, intimate exploration of deep-seated loneliness, the comfort of shared storytelling, and the delicate human need for connection amidst the isolation of the countryside.

Drama Literary Adaptation