Over the Garden Wall (1950 film)

Working class couple Fanny and Joe (Norman Evans and Jimmy James), are determined to give their daughter Mary (Sonya O'Shea) and her husband a posh home coming party. Trouble arises when the son of Joe's boss (Frederick Bradshaw) turns up and shamelessly flirts with their daughter.

Comedian Norman Evans appears in drag in the lead role as housewife Fanny Lawton

• Norman Evans as Fanny Lawton
• Jimmy James as Joe Lawton
• Dan Young as Dan
• Alec Pleon as Alec
• Sonya O'Shea as Mary Harrison
• Frederick Bradshaw as Ken Smith
• Agnes Bernelle as Val Westwood
• Neville Brook as Mr. Smith
• John Wynn as Tony Harrison
• Patrick Baring
• Billy Howard
• Langley Howard
• Eli Woods as Eli

Over the Garden Wall was filmed at Dickenson Road Studios in Rusholme, Manchester

Over the Garden Wall was produced by Mancunian Films. It was filmed entirely at Dickenson Road Studios in Rusholme, Manchester.[2]

For the lead character, comedian Norman Evans reprised his popular stage character act Fanny Fairbottom. He had previously played this role in the 1944 film, Demobbed, in which his Fanny character appears as a pantomime dame in a comedy burlesque concert staged by a group of demobilised soldiers. Fanny appears in a monologue sketch entitled "Over the Garden Wall" gossping with an unseen neighbour, Mrs Jones.[3]

Evans' monologue comedy routine gained popularity, and he appeared as Fanny Fairbottom in a BBC Radio programme, also titled Over the Garden Wall, which was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme between 1948 and 1950.[4]

When it was released, Over the Garden Wall enjoyed considerable success. Although most Mancunian productions were only popular in the North of England, Over the Garden Wall attracted audiences in the South, being screened at a large number of cinemas on the Granada Theatres, Odeon and ABC circuits, notably in popular seaside resorts.[5]

Despite its popularity, the Over the Garden Wall film was poorly regarded at the time by the National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC), who decided to withdraw financial support from Mancunian Films. The NFFC chairman, Lord Reith, expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of Mancunian's comedy productions; of Over the Garden Wall , Reith said it was not "of as high a quality as the Corporation would have wished".[6]

Norman Evans' appearance in drag as Fanny Lawton was an influential performance in the history of female impersonation on-screen, and his character later inspired the comedian Les Dawson with his comedy drag act as Cissy Braithwaite.[7]

• Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2019). The British 'B' Film. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-83871-863-3. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
• Hunter, I. Q.; Porter, Laraine (4 May 2012). British Comedy Cinema. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-50837-0. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
• Pierre, Paul Matthew St (2009). Music Hall Mimesis in British Film, 1895-1960: On the Halls on the Screen. Associated University Presse. ISBN 978-0-8386-4191-0. Retrieved 13 July 2023.

• Over the Garden Wall at IMDb
• Over the Garden Wall at Rotten Tomatoes