Watch St. Martin's Lane For Free

Wonderful character development!

To me, this movie is perfection.

Don't Believe the Hype

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Sidewalks of London, also known as St. Martin's Lane, is a fascinating drama with two acting greats, Charles Laughton and Vivien Leigh, sparking off each other and delivering dynamic performances. Vivien, this was the last film she made before GWTW, is an ambitious young dancer who teams up with Laughton as a street performer before moving on to bigger things. Their interaction makes this terribly affecting and they manage to make their characters, even with their faults, relatable and sympathetic. Separatly they are terrific but when they share scenes something magical happens and the picture is transformed from a simple story of an ambitious girl on the make into something truly special. A wonderful undiscovered gem.

Reading the comments above from American users I was surprised about their apparent ignorance of London buskers or street performers.I am sure that they had their equivalent in New York's theatre district in 1938.Vivien was an accomplished dancer (witness her role of Myra the ballet student in "Waterloo Bridge" (1940) with Robert Taylor, and she had the opportunity to show off her terpsichorean ability in this film.I agree however with many of the comments above praising the acting of the three stars, Charlie Laughton, Rex Harrison and of course Viv.Nowadays, from what I can see buskers perform in one place in London's theatre district, at a big paved off area at Covent Garden - (the Health & Safety executive lobby is wide & all powerful!) Obviously this film has been overshadowed by Viv's more famous films, but I awarded it 7/10 as it shows off her versatility.My only criticism was her difficulty in maintaining an authentic Cockney accent but of course drama schools in the 1930s drummed out regional vernacular accents from their students, long before the current trend of casting actors with authentic sounding voices.My copy is on a "Double Kino Video Feature" along with Henry Fonda's "Wings of the Morning".Users who like this film should also seek out "Storm in a Teacup" who apart from Viv & Rex has Cecil Parker.

Yes, it's a simple little film about simple, creative people swept up by the tides of a changing society, but don't overthink it. Watch it for the star performances: Laughton at the top of his game; Leigh young, powerful and smoking hot. Rex is right on the money, and the secondary characters are also mostly a hoot.Fun and tragic, cute and impressive, nostalgic without getting mired in the maudlin -- all in one little package. I wish someone in Hollywood would figure out how to pull together a film with those qualities nowadays.Added value to us Americans is the vicarious immersion into the British language, styles and customs of the 1930s. I found myself being captivated by the details -- the neckties and collar-less shirts; the layout of the boarding house; the trappings of the elite classes; the billboards of the time and the street-sweepers. Well done for any film to capture the essence of its time.

When St. Martin's Lane first came out it was not given any release in the United States, I suppose because American audiences would not be attuned to buskers. We have no equivalent of that here.Nevertheless it's a nice film. Charles Laughton is the head of a troop of buskers (British street entertainers)who inhabit and perform in and around the London theater district. The group takes in street waif Vivien Leigh and it's obvious she's got real talent. And theatrical composer Rex Harrison appreciates her charms even more than her talent.Laughton is not a man who takes betrayal gladly as he sees it. The rest of the film you'll have to see for yourself.It's nice to see both Harrison and Leigh in good parts before they became big stars. Laughton as always is fabulous, he's got the London cockney accent down pat.After Vivien Leigh became a star with the release of Gone With the Wind, St. Martin's Lane made it to the states in a limited run. It was no big hit in Great Britain for Laughton who co-produced it with Erich Pommer, the second of three films they did. But Vivien Leigh's success helped them recoup a bit.