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

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

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