The Roosters Concert Party on Film
Short and feature films featuring the Roosters or individual troupe members.
Charles Harrison in 'Getting the Needle'
Pathetone short, 1933
Title reads: "Now Pathetone presents Charles Harrison in - Getting the Needle - the well-known comedian of the famous 'Roosters', known to millions."
Recorded in London at the Pathe Studio). C/U of comedian Charles Harrison sitting in a chair in white tie and tails. He turns to camera and tells us he lost a button off his trousers. He says he won't tell us what his mother said while she was sewing it on, but he'll show us how she looked, and he mimes a woman threading a needle and sewing a button, miming her speech as he does so. He then mimes
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French Leave
1937
In 1937 The Roosters appeared in a comedy farce film called "French Leave" directed by Norman Lee, which starred Betty Lynne, Edmund Breon and John Longden. It was based on the play of the same name by Reginald Berkeley and was a remake of an earlier film of the same name from 1930.
Set during the First World War, John Longden is Lieutenant Glennister, who wishes to have his wife with him when he is posted, as this isn't allowed she instead pretends to be a friend of his and, believing her to be single, the officers' superior Colonel Root (Edmund Breon) falls in love with her. The cover-up also leads to her being suspected of being an enemy agent until the husband comes clean and tells the truth, dropping himself in it with his superiors. In typical farce fashion though all comes well in the end and the couple go off to Paris on leave.
In amongst all this farcical drama, the Roosters Concert Party are there (uncredited in the film) to entertain the troops with rousing songs, compered by radio comedian Oliver Wakefield.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't appear to be available anywhere, and IMDB and other online film sources don't even mention the Concert Party's presence within the film but a contemporary film review from 1940 singles The Roosters out as boosting the films' appeal. This is from 'The Straits Times" (an English-language Singapore-based newspaper covering Singapore and Malaysia set up during Colonial rule. The paper is still active today and was used by the troops during WWII to keep abreast of news). The review is after a re-release of the 1937 film in 1940. The article is from the 15th August 1940 edition of the paper;