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Underground
Underground
Directed by	Anthony Asquith
Written by	Anthony Asquith
Produced by	Harry Bruce Woolfe
Starring	Brian Aherne; Elissa Landi ; Cyril McLaglen ; Norah Baring
Cinematography	Stanley Rodwell
Production; company	British Instructional Films
Distributed by	Pro Patria Films
Release date	1928;
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Languages	Sound (Synchronized); English Intertitles

Underground is a 1928 British sound drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Brian Aherne, Elissa Landi, Cyril McLaglen, and Norah Baring. While the film has no audible dialogue, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects, using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film examines the lives of ordinary Londoners and the romance between them, set on and around the London Underground.

The film starts and ends with an Underground train coming into a station. It shows humorous scenes of people coping with the crowds on the underground train. It also has interesting shoots of London, from a bus, of the Thames from the top of a power station which appears to be Lots Road Power Station, a pub, and a shop. The film has strong roles for the two leading women, while the men are more clichéd, one a villain and the other a blue-eyed, blond angel.

Plot

Underground (1928)

An electrician and a porter both fall in love with a shop girl they meet on the London Underground.^[1] Their rivalry begins with humour and ends very darkly at the Power Station.

Cast

Brian Aherne as Bill
Elissa Landi as Nell
Cyril McLaglen as Bert, Power station worker
Norah Baring as Kate, Seamstress

Music

The film featured a theme song entitled "Arms Of Love", composed by Alfred Bryan and Francis Wheeler (words) and Pete Wendling (music).

Production

Underground was made by British Instructional Films at Elstree and Cricklewood Studios^[2] and on location in London including scenes shot at Lots Road Power Station in Chelsea.^[3] The film was based on an original scenario written by Asquith.^[4]

Restoration

The picture portion of Underground was restored in 2009 under the auspices of the British Film Institute (BFI). For unknown reasons, the original synchronized musical score has not been restored to the film. In 2011, composer and well-known silent film accompanist Neil Brand wrote a completely modern score for the film, which was then premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London.^[5]