East Is East
About East Is East
Victoria Vickers lives in Poplar with her aunt and uncle and is courted by Bert Grummett, who wants a fish-and-chip shop. On the annual hop-picking trip to Kent, a solicitor finds her: a distant relative has left her a fortune, if she spends three years learning to be a lady. Mrs. Carrington's household bores her, and a visit from Bert so appalls the guardian that Victoria is sent abroad. She comes back engaged to the Carrington son, hears him say he wants her money for gambling debts, drops the fortune, and finds Bert in a Kent cottage.
Cast & crew
More about East Is East
Henry Edwards directed and played Bert Grummett. Florence Turner plays Victoria Vickers. Edith Evans, in an early film part, plays the aunt. A full print survives.
Themes
Background
The story uses a premise that later British silents repeated: an East End girl dropped into West End society.
Reviews
Bryony Dixon, writing for the British Film Institute, says Edwards uses the actors to suggest space beyond the fixed sets, and singles out the Kent hop fields and Edith Evans, who "outrageously upstages everyone."
Preservation
A full print survives.
Notes
- Ruth Mackay plays Mrs. Carrington, and W. G. Saunders plays Dawson.
- Victoria lends Bert money before she is sent abroad, and he builds a business with it.
- The hop-field scenes were shot in Kent.
- On the night of the engagement party she announces she will break it off and give up the claim.
Scenes
- The solicitor finds Victoria in the Kent hop fields.
- She overhears her fiancé talking about her money and his debts.
- Bert sees her from the cottage window and runs out.
Also available
- Internet Archive (EastIsEast1916)