Autumn Crocus

Love story set in the Austrian Tyrol stars Ivor Novello (in his last film) as a hotel keeper who falls for an English teacher (Fay Compton) who is on vacation.

Compton plays an aging woman (she's 35) who dreams about a mountain village and love. She finds both on her vacation, but her friend (Esme Church) warns her against being silly and ruining her life. Yet Compton is set to "run away" and stay in the village with Novello until she learns his secret.

Interesting look at two different cultures and unrequited love. Among the hotel guests are a "modern" unmarried couple who share a room (Jack Hawkins, Diana Beaumont), a vacationing parson and his old-maid sister (George Zucco, Muriel Aked), and a traditional German couple. The story show us the "modern" couple who defy conventions but are snubbed by "polite society." On the other hand we see the "proper" woman who has become a nosy old maid with no life of her own.

Will Compton defy convention and stay in the Tyrol with Novello? Or will be pay heed to her friend's advice and go back to England and her job? Fay Compton is excellent as the wavering teacher. She has a lovely scene where she sings a sad English ballad, and she's believable as the woman who knows her chance at love may be her last. Novello is also excellent as the hotelier who wants more love in his life. Despite some awkward rear projections, the film has a nice look and the Austrian mountains are gorgeous. After almost 2 dozen films, this was Novello's final film role.

Shy school teacher on a holiday in the Tyrolian Alps is romanced by a married man with children, for whom a second relationship is of no consequence to his morals, but is impossible with her British upbringing

Fay Compton deserved an Oscar or Bafta nom for her incredibly sensitive performance. The latter didn't exist then and the former only honored USA films. She is superb. Novello is again charming as the boy-child persona of his talkie performances, full of life and love, regardless of society's judgments. This was to be his last film.

Of the six talkies he made, I have seen five. He was totally awful in THE PHANTOM FIEND, an inept remake of his silent success under Hitchcock's direction of THE LODGER, giving an over the top melodramatic performance that was execrable under any criteria. However, of the remaining talkies I have seen, he is brilliant, with superb dramatic and comedic timing. Seek out this, plus I LIVED WITH YOU (his best), and SLEEPING CAR.

There is a subtle lesbian attraction implied between the leading lady and her traveling companion, well done.

This DVD from a private collector timed out at 1:20, six minutes short of its official timing.

Note the similarity in plot of Arthur Laurents' play THE TIME OF THE CUCKOO, later the classic David Lean film, SUMMERTIME, and still later, the Rodgers-Sondheim musical play, DO I HEAR A WALTZ?

This reminded me a little of "Mr. Chips" at the start as school-mistresses "Jenny" (Fay Compton) and "Miss Mayne" (Muriel Aked) set off on a trip to Venice via one night in the Austrian Tyrol. The latter woman is a bit finicky and after two or three hotels their bus driver all but abandons them at a guesthouse run by "Andreas" (Ivor Novello). His is a cheery establishment, largely devoid of insects, that suits both women. The scenery is beautiful, the company lively and the food good - and it's only for just one night. Pretty clearly, there is soon a chemistry between "Jenny" and her host, and the rest of the film uses the Alpine scenery and a few charming songs to depict a slowly developing love story. By way of distraction there are other guests - notably the rather Bohemian "Alaric" (Jack Hawkins) and "Audrey" (Diana Beaumont) who refuse to conform to marriage and so openly flit from each other's rooms much to the chagrin and amusement of the other guests. There is something of the whimsy to this - the setting, the songs, the gentle pace of it all, and as the story throws a few obstacles into their otherwise loving path, we see both with decisions to make. I always found Novello a very engaging actor to watch - even if his roles sometimes left substance to be desired - and here he delivers, as does Compton, effectively for a pleasing ninety minutes.

Basil Dean decided to make both this film and The Constant Nymph with Tyrolean backgrounds.He sent a second unit to Austria in charge of Carol Reed.They were beset by problems including days of rain.Dean decided to direct this film himself and was rightly dissatisfied by his efforts.He was concerned that some actors looked down on the cinema and their minds were on their evening theatre performance.Clearly this refers to Novello who gives a truly awful performance in his final film.He is totally miscast with a woeful accent.Compton on the other hand gives a sensitive performance.Whilst the film did well in better class cinemas it did not fare well with what he called the cheaper seats.Another step on the path to his exit from Ealing.

"Autumn Crocus" is a British film that at times seems to draw attention to the stereotype that Brits are horrid world travelers who expect every country to act just like the UK! It surprised me and the same sort of thing is shown in "Shirley Valentine" (1989). And, in fact, the two films are similar in several other ways.

Two spinster school teachers decide to step out of their comfort zone and go abroad for their vacations. One is the stereotypical 'ugly Brit', as Edith complains about nearly everything. On the other hand, her younger companion, Jenny, seems to enjoy her travels. The story mostly focuses on their experiences staying in a small Austrian village in the Tyrolian mountains...where Jenny eventually falls in love. Naturally, this love has a BIG problem.

I was very impressed by the Welsh actor, Ivor Novello, in the male lead. Despite not being the least bit Austrian, he sure did a great job with his accent. Plus, when he spoke some German, he sounded German...at least to me! His acting style was also likable...very carefree and natural.

Overall, this is a very well acted and enjoyable film. Additionally, the mountain scenery is lovely and evocative. Well worth seeing.

There is great irony that this film so glorifies the quaint and charming Tyrolians considering only five years later, the UK and Austria would be at war with each other. Sad...but ironic. And, considering this, I strongly doubt if the film was re-released during these war years!