April Love

I just read the plot summary and it is the worst one I have ever read. It does not do justice to this incredible movie. For an example of a good summary, read the listing at "Turner Classic Movies". Anyway, this was one of my favorite movies as a young child. My sister and I couldn't wait until every April when we could see it on T.V. It is one of the best horse movies of it's time. It is one of those great classics that the whole family can watch. The romance is clean and endearing. The story line is interesting and the songs are great. They don't make movies like this anymore. Good acting and not over the top. Pat Boone and Shirley Jones are at their best, along with many other great character actors.

I was fortunate enough to purchase one of the special edition Blu Ray versions of April Love and I could not have been happier after watching this wonderfully pleasing film with its rich color, musical renditions by crooner Pat Boone and accompanied by a very young Shirley Jones.

I wish the current film producers would take a chance on bringing back some of the story lines from the 1950's films that carry such a simple enough plot and rely on well trained actors/singers/directors and cinematographers to bring their stories to life as does April Love. This is a charming film starring Pat Boone as a somewhat troubled young man named Nick Conover, who by court order has agreed to move from his hometown big city of Chicago to temporarily live with his mother's sister, his Aunt Henrietta Bruce (Jeanette Nolan) and his Uncle Jed Bruce (Arthur O'Connell) on their somewhat run down Kentucky horse farm. Both the Judge and Nick's mother felt he had too many bad influences around Chicago and a stay on his Uncle and Aunt's Kentucky horse farm may settle him down from getting into any more serious trouble with the law.

Uncle Jed and Aunt Henrietta have recently suffered a great loss of life of their own son in the war so their nephew's unexpected stay is met with mixed emotions. Uncle Jed lays down the law with his nephew Nick that his assigned chores have to be done first before any free time is spared. Nick is initially sombre about his surroundings until he spots a run down tractor and a run down car that he could tinker with to see if he could get them running. There is also one (1) ornery horse that Uncle Ned and Aunt Henrietta have out in the pasture that they just did not have the heart to get rid of. Little did they know that their nephew Nick has a natural talent to not only fix broken down machinery but as well race their trotter back on the Kentucky Fair track that brings back a lot of happy memories for Uncle Ned and Aunt Henrietta that had disappeared more recently with the tragic loss of their son.

Ahhhhh, what a wonderful way to pass an afternoon watching this classic film. I really enjoyed this 62 year old film. It is a classic that should be playing more often on television re-runs for fans of musicals, dramas as well as horse racing enthusiasts.

I give it a 9 out of 10 rating.

It was hard to avoid hearing April Love during 1957, it was number one on the charts for a bit. With every minute that Pat Boone sang this song on the radio it was just free advertising for the film that this was the title song for.

Pat plays a kid from Chicago who's been sent out to his uncle and aunt's farm while he sits out a bit of juvenile joy riding in a stolen car for which he's gotten probation and a suspended license. After a bit of trouble he proves useful around the farm and makes the acquaintance of neighbor sisters Dolores Michaels and Shirley Jones. They both kind of like Pat, but it's Jones he makes the music with.

Besides April Love Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster wrote a bunch of other songs for Pat and Shirley to sing. Nothing anywhere near as memorable as the title song. It got the only Oscar recognition for April Love, a nomination for Best Original Song. It however lost to All The Way in 1957.

What Pat also does is take up harness racing the way Lon McCallister did in Home In Indiana for which April Love is a remake. A sore subject in the house as O'Connell and Nolan lost their own son and this was his thing.

April Love holds up well after 60 years. As I write this it's one of the few films of the era where both leading man and woman are still with us. Doubt it will be remade though, you don't get singers like Pat Boone and Shirley Jones any more.

This film is one of those clean cut, light hearted, just fun movies. The scenery is beautiful and the plot is simple. Of course watching Pat Boone play a bad boy (I use that term loosely since by today's standards, his behavior would be considered clean cut) is a bit hard to swallow. This movie was quite a bit before my time, but there are 2 reasons why I have a biased liking for this movie. One, it takes place in Kentucky where I happen to have been raised and still live. I think this movie is the best representation for what makes Kentucky such a great place. And 2 I am the grandson of the man that played Ed Hargraves, the horse trainer (Nelson Malone). He only has 2 or 3 lines, but our family looks forward to seeing this film every year and waiting for Nelson Malone to appear and speak his few lines.

Beautiful landscapes, good music, lovely couple, wonderful horses, nice love story and a bit of secrecy make this movie a pleasure to watch. The story about a boy (nice Pat Boone) coming to his uncles' farm quitting conflicts with law (movie's only flaw: Pat Boone does not convince as a juvenile delinquent. But soon forgotten: it works as a mere excuse for him going to the country) where he becomes a man training a racing horse and falling in love with neighbour (Shirley Jones) is both appealing and entertaining. A new version of Winston Miller novel already filmed back in 1944 entitled Home in Indiana. Both are nice. This one, more sweetened has lovely songs added, spectacular technicolor landscapes of Kentucky and a more sophisticated mise-en-scène, including a refreshing amusement park scene. Delightful entertaining especially for a summer afternoon.