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.

A woman lying in bed staring through the camera Web

Director: Alfie Beecher

Year: 2026

A woman living alone follows a meticulous nightly routine after killing a home intruder. As the aftermath unfolds, disturbing details reveal this has all happened before.

Horror
A Night in Porto A Night in Porto

Director: Antonio Sequeira, Anastasiia Vorotniuk

Year: 2026

Two former lovers unexpectedly reunite on a Christmas night in Porto. Their encounter sparks a reflective journey into whether life offers second chances at happiness.

Comedy Drama Romance Woman Director
The Angel in the House The Angel in the House

Director: Missy McNaught

Year: 2026

Angela is living a life devoted to everyone but herself. Caught between revolving identities, she has stepped into roles that generations of women before her have occupied. Disconnected from her husband, Malcolm, and struggling to articulate her dissatisfaction, she leaves home the night before her family is set to attend a wedding, and finds herself confronted by the silence that has stretched between them.

Drama Scottish Woman Director