Cheer Boys Cheer

Plot

The film depicts the rivalry between two firms of brewers. Ironsides, a modern company led by the ruthless Edward Ironside and his son John, seeks territorial expansion to crush its rivals and seize control of their business. They are faced by the smaller, more gently run Greenleaf brewery which is about to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Production

The film was made by Ealing Studios, roughly a year after Michael Balcon had taken over from Basil Dean as head of production. It was released shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, the last Ealing film to be released in peacetime.

Reception

The film's representation of the differing management styles of the Ironside and Greenleaf companies has traditionally been seen as an analogy for Nazi Germany and the United Kingdom in the lead-up to the outbreak of war.

The film has also come to be seen as a precursor of the later "Ealing Comedies", sharing a similar theme of big versus small, traditional versus modern with the later films which began with Hue and Cry in 1947.