Bond Street is a 1948 British portmanteau drama film directed by Gordon Parry and based on a story by Terence Rattigan. It stars Jean Kent, Roland Young, Kathleen Harrison, and Derek Farr. The film depicts a bride's dress, veil, pearls and flowers purchased in London's Bond Street—and the secret story behind each item.
Plot
There is no overarching story, other than a series of short stories, each linking to Bond street.
Stories include: a deliberately ripped dress; a man ripping his trousers, and getting a lunch-date with the seamstress; and a man trying to avoid a suddenly materialised love interest from Denmark.
Cast
Jean Kent as Ricki Merritt
Roland Young as George Chester-Barrett
Kathleen Harrison as Ethel Brawn
Derek Farr as Joe Marsh
Hazel Court as Julia Chester-Barrett
Ronald Howard as Steve Winter
Paula Valenska as Elsa
Patricia Plunkett as Mary Phillips
Robert Flemyng as Frank Moody
Adrianne Allen as Mrs. Taverner
Kenneth Griffith as Len Phillips
Joan Dowling as Norma
Charles Goldner as Waiter
James McKechnie as Inspector Yarrow
Leslie Dwyer as Barman
Aubrey Mallalieu as Parkins
Darcy Conyers as Bank Clerk
Critical reception
'Britmovie' called the film an "entertaining portmanteau comedy-drama charting the events occurring during a typical 24-hour period on London’s thoroughfare Bond Street. Linking the four stories together is the impending wedding of society girl Hazel Court and Robert Flemyng. Producer Anatole de Grunwald and co-writer Terence Rattigan would later revisit the formula for Anthony Asquith’s The V.I.P.s (1963) and The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964)." The New York Times called the film "an entertainment grab bag, which, in this case, means that some of the parts are better than the whole...But this spectator's favorite Bond Street interlude is the final chapter, concerning a bouquet and an old flame who turns up at an inopportune time to claim the groom as her own. Roland Young is vastly amusing as the droll father of the prospective bride...Bond Street is fresh enough to have a certain amount of novelty appeal which helps to compensate for the inconsistencies of its dramatic construction. It may not be in a class with Quartet, a handy point of reference, but the new film can stand on its own merits with any audience that is willing to accept half a loaf."
Trade papers called the film a "notable box office attraction" in British cinemas in 1948. As of 1 April 1950 the film earned distributor's gross receipts of £104,588 in the UK of which £59,611 went to the producer.