Spring in Park Lane (1948)
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 413. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Lana Morris and Michael Wilding in Spring in Park Lane (Herbert Wilcox, 1948).
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W 414. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, and Josephine Fitzgerald in Spring in Park Lane (Herbert Wilcox, 1948).
Spring in Park Lane (1948) was already the third pairing of Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding in the 'London Films', as the series of seven films came to be called. The film was based on a 1916 novel by American author and suffragette Alice Duer Miller, 'Come Out of the Kitchen'.
Anna Neagle plays Judy, the niece of a diamond merchant (Tom Walls). She falls for his new footman Richard (Michael Wilding) who is really an aristocrat, fallen on hard times temporarily. The posh family lives in Park Lane, an exclusive area of London. Only the butler knows Richard's real identity which he keeps secret but addresses him as "milord" whenever they are alone together.
The result is that the Park Lane family are astonished by Richard's savoir-faire and knowledge of the finer things of life. Richard can play the piano well and spot an art forger at 100 paces as well as being charming and witty to the family. Soon he has become irreplaceable as an employee and Judy begins to look to Richard for advice on non-footman activities.
The script of Spring in Park Lane has witty lines and amusing characters and Herbert Wilcox has directed it with an agreeably light touch. Michael Wilding and beautiful and radiant Anna Neagle have great chemistry together. Most of their films involve a couple of songs and dance numbers. As dancing partners, they are sublime here in the gentle romantic interludes which create lovely highlights to this charming, light comedy.
Spring in Park Lane (1948) was the most popular film in the United Kingdom for the year 1948. According to the British Film Institute in 2004, it had a fifth place in all-time ticket sales in the United Kingdom. As of 2017, its 20.5 million U.K. attendance was still the largest audience for any wholly British film. It was highly rated and well-received in the USA as well.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 415. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding and Nigel Patrick in Spring in Park Lane (Herbert Wilcox, 1948).
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 417. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Michael Wilding and Anna Neagle in Spring in Park Lane (Herbert Wilcox, 1948).
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 418. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Tom Walls, Anna Neagle, and Michael Wilding in Spring in Park Lane (Herbert Wilcox, 1948).
Maytime in Mayfair (1949)
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W 711. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding in Maytime in Mayfair (Herbert Wilcox, 1949).
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 712. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, and Peter Graves in Maytime in Mayfair (Herbert Wilcox, 1949).
The plot of Maytime in Mayfair (Herbert Wilcox, 1949) is reminiscent of Roberta (William A. Seiter, 1935). Michael Gore-Brown (Michael Wilding) is an English playboy gentleman, who is broke when he inherits London's leading dress store in the posh Mayfair district of London. His intention is to sell it as quickly as possible, but on meeting Eileen Grahame (Anna Neagle), chief designer and manager, he quickly changes his mind and turns his attention to pursue her.
Across the street, a rival dress-maker, D'Arcy Davenport (Peter Graves) is also after the shop, and Eileen, and is quite prepared to use whatever foul means are needed. Michael sets out to help make the salon a success so they can all make money. He and Eileen dance and romance, and there is a big fashion show as the climax.
Most critics agree that Maytime in Mayfair is weaker than its predecessor of a year earlier, Spring in Park Lane. The plot is not as strong and Anna Neagle appears a little too old for the part she plays.
However, the musical sequences, the British Technicolor, and the fashion plate poses and clothes are all gorgeous. In fact, the two musical dream sequences are the film's highlights. In one, Wilding imagines the beautiful Neagle as a famous model. In the other, Neagles imagines a slow-motion dance with Wilding. Both are well done. There's also a big fashion show sequence with all the major London designers represented.
The reviewers at IMDb also agree that Michael Wilding is a joy in the film, charming, funny, debonair, appears to be having great fun, and to be on top of his form. His provocative little asides and quick quips are marvelous.
The film also has a fine supporting cast, especially in Peter Graves as D'Arcy Davenport and Nicholas Phipps as Sir Henry Hazelrigg (Phipps also wrote the script for this film). Thora Hird is permitted to look incredibly glamorous as Neagle's secretary and the film also contains Tom Walls' last screen performance, as an Irish bobby. He died a few months after this film was released.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 713. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Anna Neagle, and Michael Wilding in Maytime in Mayfair (Herbert Wilcox, 1949).
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 714. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Anna Neagle, and Michael Wilding in Maytime in Mayfair (Herbert Wilcox, 1949).
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 716. Photo: Herbert Wilcox Production / British Lion. Anna Neagle, and Michael Wilding in Maytime in Mayfair (Herbert Wilcox, 1949).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
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