Moviecut—Spring in Park Lane

source: Spring in Park Lane

Spring in Park Lane

When this film was released this country was in the grip of austerity so the sight of people living seemingly in another world of plenty was very appealing

A British romantic comedy; A story about a nobleman who hides from his relatives by working as footman in a Mayfair house, and falls in love with the niece of the owner, a wealthy diamond merchant and art collector. The film is well directed and finely acted and delivers escapism and glamour. The set design is glorious, the dialogue witty and funny, the dancing top notch, and the chemistry between Wilding and Neagle positively charged. It has luscious arrangements to English traditional melodies 'Early One Morning' and 'The Moment I Saw You'. As an aside, it is noteworthy for being the top-rated wholly British funded film of all time.

This film is pure joy. Back in the nineteen seventies I was a projectionist for several years and I remember my mother encouraging me to watch vintage movies to find out what real acting was about. This one was one of the earliest I saw and I totally fell in love with it. Set in London's west end, this is the tale of an impoverished Lord played with enormous charm and wit by Michael Wilding. He and Anna Neagle, his co-star, have great chemistry together, and really all the way through you can see they were made each other. The rest of the cast are all in top form and really this is a movie not to be missed if you love romantic comedies as I do.

This is one of my favourite movies of its type. I first saw it when it first appeared (sixty years ago), and I have seen it several times in recent years. It gets better with each viewing. It has a pretty believable plot, very good dialogue, and the characters are great. I wish films like this could still be made. It has, of course, no resemblance to real life today (for which heartfelt thanks), and in fact not much resemblance to the life when it was made, but who can resist the overall pleasant atmosphere? It is sad to relate that the sequel "Maytime in Mayfair" was a complete let-down. I am at a complete loss to understand why this excellent film isn't available on DVD.

This is a lighthearted, very British romance with a fine cast. The story revolves around a merchant's daughter, Anna Neagle as Judy, who falls in love with their new servant, Richard, played by Michael Wilding, who is actually a nobleman fallen on hard times temporarily. As dancing partners they are sublime in the gentle romantic interludes which create lovely highlights to the movie. Don't miss it. The script moves along well with witty dialogue and interesting interaction among the characters. Excellent British fare with lots of charm.