Darby and Joan (1937) memorabilia?

[belphegor]

As I understand this 1937 Rock Studios production, released by MGM-British, is considered as a "lost film". Alas.
But the most extravagant thing, in my humble opinion, is that in spite of extensive research I never found any original or reproduced materials about it, even a single still. If you consider the case of "London After Midnight" (1925) for instance, another MGM release, the film is also lost, but myriads of stills, lobbies and posters are still existing. In the case of "Darby and Joan", nada. Even the BFI has not a single document in their archives, apart from some contemporary reviews.
Of course, some stills or movie ads were probably published in corporative British magazines when it was released in February 1937 (or before, during the shooting in December 1936), but I live in France and these archives aren't accessible on the Web, I think.
I would be interested to know if some members of this forum really know about available materials on this really elusive title... Thank you!

[JamesM]

What happened to the film's director? Was he South African? Was he really born in 1916, as according to the BFI (I doubt it!)? I wonder if he passed away in 1937 or before because he appears to have stopped working. If he did, this would be one of the few British sound features in the public domain.

[orpheum2]

Can i suggest that for information on the film you research the trade papers such as Daily Cinema and Kine Weekly.At the very least you should be able to get production information from this.the BFI should have copies o0f these publications.Also their own Monthly Film Bulliten.

[belphegor]

Can i suggest that for information on the film you research the trade papers such as Daily Cinema and Kine Weekly.At the very least you should be able to get production information from this.the BFI should have copies o0f these publications.Also their own Monthly Film Bulliten.

Thank you. In fact I do have three of the very short reviews published in British magazines like "Monthly Film Bulletin" (March 1937), "Picturegoer Weekly" (July 24, 1937), and "Film Weekly" (same date). But I think the most interesting things (an advertisement, some stills, etc.) were probably published in corporative magazines such as "The Daily Film Renter" and similars, but it will be necessary to make a trip in London to have access to these archives.
It was apparently a mediocre movie (according to contemporary reviews) - but there is an excellent motive to search about it: the presence of Tod Slaughter in the cast...

[will.15]

What happened to the film's director? Was he South African? Was he really born in 1916, as according to the BFI (I doubt it!)? I wonder if he passed away in 1937 or before because he appears to have stopped working. If he did, this would be one of the few British sound features in the public domain.

Obviously he wasn't born in 1916:

British actor/writer Syd Courtenay is most closely associated with music-hall comedian Leslie Fuller. Beginning in 1919, Courtenay wrote material for several of Fuller's popular revues, doubling as an on-stage comic foil. When Fuller entered films in 1930, Courtenay went right along with him. He scripted and occasionally appeared in such haphazard farces as Not So Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Poor Old Bill (1931), Old Spanish Customers (1932),The Hawleys of the Hight Street (1933), Lost in the Legion (1934) and Captain Bill (1935). One of Syd Courtenay's rare non-comic assignments was the 1936 melodrama The Man Behind the Mask. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It is not listed in the IMDB, but clearly the producer was American Joe Rock, best known for producing the best Stan Laurel comedy shorts a few years before Laurel teamed up with Hardy. Rock was probably not a reliable source, but claimed he wantd to hire Oliver Hardy to be Laurel's comic foil and Laurel rejected the idea because Hardy was known as a scene stealer. It doesn't sound like Laurel who never had a problem sharing the screen with other comics even when he was a star in shorts.

As a lost film, it doesn't much matter if it is in the public domain.