When You Come Home

Life Is Nothing Without Music

The Courtneys of Curzon Street

Holiday Camp

The Hills of Donegal

Comin’ thro’ the Rye

March

The films of Frank Randle resonated throughout the northern film industry between 1940 and 1953, beloved of what trade journals considered ‘industrial’ audiences, but less revered by critics and rarely exhibited down south. The fact that Randle was so blatant a comic genius left the major studios unmoved, perhaps fearing the physical damage he might inflict on not only the premises but the staff. When he was unleashed, there was no guarantee what might happen; scriptwriters resigned themselves to what he did with their words, directors threw up their hands when the cameras rolled. One cannot imagine Randle at the mercy of Columbia British, or any stifling interloper between him and his public in the dark.

Nevertheless, Randle moved from Mancunian, where he had the benefit of John E. Blakeley’s affectionate understanding, to Butcher’s Film Services for the fascinating When You Come Home, produced and directed by that most unsung of British directors John Baxter. Baxter was without doubt the best director Randle ever had, and there is an argument for claiming the partnership was made in heaven. For a start, both men were steeped in the music-hall tradition, but opinion is divided as to how well their partnership worked. The writer John Montgomery, who handled the film’s publicity, had made up his mind:

I’m afraid it was not a good film, because the script [ostensibly by David Evans and Geoffrey Orme, with ‘additional scenes and comedy material’ by Randle] was so muddled. The director John Baxter was absolutely lost. The film cost twice as much as it should have – six times as much as any other Randle film, but I think it made less money than any of them. [Randle] really wasn’t funny in the film; the script crippled him, and John Baxter was such a quiet, charming man that Randle […] was completely out of his element.