Tom Walls(1883-1949)
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Comedy farceur Tom Walls is indelibly associated with the popular
Aldwych Theatre farces of the 1920s and 1930s. Born in 1883, this
English gent was a former constable and jockey before making his stage
debut in 1905. As the star and producer of a succession of witty spoofs
typically denigrating society's uppercrust, he often played the slick
cad. Written expertly by Ben Travers and in tandem with fellow comic
extraordinaires Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare, the shows were chock full of sight
gags, puns, double entendres and slapstick.
With Walls at the helm as director, a number of their successes were transferred to the 30s silver screen, beginning with Rookery Nook (1930). The madcap nonsense seemed to be just what the doctor ordered, so an assembly-line of their classic stage shows were filmed, including Plunder (1930), A Night Like This (1932), Thark (1932), Turkey Time (1933), A Cuckoo in the Nest (1933), Dirty Work (1934) (directed only), and A Cup of Kindness (1934), more or less all of them presented as photographed plays. His career waned following the decade, but he was still seen in a number of films, both comedic and touchingly dramatic, until his death in 1949.
With Walls at the helm as director, a number of their successes were transferred to the 30s silver screen, beginning with Rookery Nook (1930). The madcap nonsense seemed to be just what the doctor ordered, so an assembly-line of their classic stage shows were filmed, including Plunder (1930), A Night Like This (1932), Thark (1932), Turkey Time (1933), A Cuckoo in the Nest (1933), Dirty Work (1934) (directed only), and A Cup of Kindness (1934), more or less all of them presented as photographed plays. His career waned following the decade, but he was still seen in a number of films, both comedic and touchingly dramatic, until his death in 1949.
