Spring in Park Lane

What an accomplished team Anna Neagle and Michael Widing were.They must have known each others acting styles intimately.I have them on DVD/video in "The Courtneys of Curzon Street", "Piccadilly Incident" and the subject film.The mode is light romantic comedy a style at which they both excelled so I have rated it 7/10.

An aristocrat, (Michael Wilding), falls out with his dim family and obtains the position of a footman with a posh family who live in Park Lane, an exclusive area of London.Only the butler knows Michael'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 Michael's savoir-faire and knowledge of the finer things of life.Michael 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 Anna Neagle (who is the secretary of wealthy Tom Walls) begins to look to Michael for advice on non footman activities.

As time elapses Anna begins to suspect Michael is not all he pretends to be and they arrange a date together on The Serpentine so she can learn more about his background.There is an echo of the scene in "The Merchant of Venice" when Portia has to choose between three suitors.Suitor 1 is a vain self-obsessed actor.Suitor 2 is Michael's dim, boring aristocratic brother (cue comedy of Michael trying to avoid "blowing his cover").Suitor 3, Michael, appears as the poorest suitor but Anna instinctively feels he is the one.I feel sure script writers sometimes borrow and get inspiration from the classics when writing their screenplays.Another of the footman's accomplishments is dancing and the two have a very romantic dreamlike dance together.That's all of the plot I will reveal.This film is readily available so I urge all Wilding/Neagle fans to go out and buy this for their collection.

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

Spring In Park Lane has Michael Wilding an aristocrat on the lam lest a family scandal ensue getting a job with Tom Walls who's a nouveau riche type looking to acquire a bit of culture. He takes a job as a footman with only butler G.H. Mulcaster knowing his true identity.

But Anna Neagle who is secretary as well as daughter of Walls suspects early on that this servant is not all he seems. He's way too well educated and cultured for one in his line of work.

This is one light and airy confection with a great deal of the charm of this film residing in the charm and chemistry of the leads. Neagle and Wilding had that in abundance.

Others in the cast you will enjoy are Josephine Fitzgerald as the severe Irish housekeeper for Walls who finds Wilding a most agreeable bridge partner and Nicholas Phipps as one of those empty headed twits who have titles. He's also the Marquis of Borechester the family title of which Wilding is a possible heir.

If you like your British films light and airy you can't go wrong with Spring In Park Lane.

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.

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.