East Is East

East Is East is a 1916 British silent film drama directed by Henry Edwards, who also starred in the film with Florence Turner. The film is an early example of the plot premise which would prove very popular in the British silent film canon: that of a character (almost always a pretty young girl) from the working-class East End of London being suddenly thrust by circumstance into the daunting milieu of West End high society. The full print of East Is East survives, and is well regarded by historians of British silent film. Writing for the British Film Institute, Bryony Dixon notes: "Edwards seems to have had an innate or instinctive understanding of cinema space both as an actor and director, and despite being hampered as everyone else at that early date by rather fixed sets and camera positions, he uses himself and the other actors to convey the space beyond the fourth wall, creating the illusion of a satisfyingly convincing world." She also notes: "The locations are well chosen and evocative of a bygone era, particularly the lovely scenes in the Kentish hop fields", and that Edith Evans in a very early screen role "outrageously upstages everyone at every opportunity". Although largely a serious drama, the film also includes scenes of visual humour arising from the awkward collision of East End and West End manners and habits. Plot Victoria Vickers (Turner) lives with her aunt and uncle in Poplar and is being courted by Bert Grummett (Edwards), who aspires to one day marry Victoria and open up his own fish and chip shop. For the time being, Victoria is happy for them just to remain friends. The Vickers family and Bert go off on their annual summer jaunt to pick hops in Kent. Unknown to them, Victoria is being desperately sought by a solicitor to pass on the good news that she has inherited a fortune from the estate of a recently deceased distant relative. There is a deadline for her to claim her bounty, but happily the solicitor tracks her down in Kent in the nick of time and rushes her back to London.