You'd Be Surprised (1930)

Genres - Musical, Music, Comedy  |   Sub-Genres - Musical Comedy  |   Run Time - 64 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

The multi-talented Walter Forde was star, co-writer and director of the bouncy musical You'd be Surprised. Forde plays an aspiring songwriter who goes to great and tortuous lengths to get his compositions heard by a pompous music publisher. His chances for fame and fortune are sorely compromised when he is mistaken for an escaped convict and tossed into the slammer. At one point, the star ventures into Harold Lloyd territory when he finds himself manacled to a huge and surly thug who drags our poor hero all over London. Much of the film suffers from substandard sound recording, though a few innovative audio effects emerge from the cacophony. Future screenwriter-producer-director Sidney Gilliat shows up in a minor uncredited role.

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Keywords

danger, escaped-convict, mistaken-identity, songwriter, stars [celebrities]