Maytime in Mayfair

A piece of froth from post war Britain. Its chief interest nowadays is that it is so evocative of the gentitlity and manners which used to be an integral part of British life and now isn't. It is never a good idea for a successful series to grow self-indulgent as the Neagle/Wilcox series was by this time. At one stage Wilding describes the leading lady as "putting one in mind of Anna Neagle" and elsewhere Graves is divested of a "Michael Wilding Fan Club" card by the policeman. However it is well photographed, the dance numbers still stand up well and all in all it is a nice way to pass a couple of hours.

Isn't anybody going to talk about the couturiers? I think I've read all of the user reviews and I find it peculiar that the one thing that this Roberta remake has that sets it apart from the others is that for some reason they have nine or 10 different dress designers including some of the most famous in Europe yet nobody mentions this. It seems to me there must have been a reason why that was done and I would love to know what that could possibly be. There are some very pretty clothes and some that show the worst excesses of the late 1940s but a comparable Hollywood movie such as the original Roberta in Hollywood seems to be able to manage with just Bernard Newman and his staff. And that movie features some beaded gowns that clearly involved hundreds of hours of work. I would just like to know why this movie has this embarrassment of riches because it doesn't seem to be unusually elaborate or excessive. Just saying.

I first saw this film over 25 years ago on British TV and have only just caught up with it again last week on a DVD copy bought off ebay. I had remembered the musical sequences, the colour and the gorgeous fashion plate poses and clothes but the plot is weaker than the earlier Anna Neagle/Michael Wilding film Spring in Park Lane and Maytime doesn't stand up so well to the passage of the years. But Michael Wilding is a joy in the film, charming, funny, debonair, appears to be having great fun and on top of his form. Worth watching for him alone. Anna Neagle appears a little matronly beside him, and a little too old for the part she plays but by the end of the 1940's their film partnership was well established with the cinema going public. Spring in Park Lane had been a top hit for 1947 and a big money maker. In his autobiography Wilding wrote at length of his great regard for Herbert Wilcox the director and instigator of this London series of films.

I agree with the general comments of all mentioned above, especially Marilyn Henry's witty remarks.Yes, Anna Neagle was too old for the leading lady part, most noticeable in her close-ups but remember her husband Herbert Wilcox was the producer.The "in" jokes are there again where the leading lady & man joke that their stage characters remind them of their real selves, (see "Spring in Park Lane" (1948) a companion to this film).

On the plus side it is in glorious colour and the fact the plot is set in a late 1940s fashionable Mayfair lady's clothes salon gives the director an opportunity to show fashion models literally stepping out of the pages of contemporary fashion journals.That scene reminded me of "Cover Girl" (1945) with Rita Hayworth & Gene Kelly, when glamorous models likewise appear and step out of American fashion magazines.Nice to see a young Thora Hird playing a secretary and Tom Walls playing a policeman.Its a harmless bit of froth and in my opinion only worth 5/10.The actors in "Spring in Park Lane" were effectively reprising their roles, especially the slow motion dancing of Dame Anna with Michael Wilding

Likewise Peter Graves and Michael Wilding's cousin "once removed" are reprising their almost identical role in "Spring in Park Lane".

Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding made 7 films together. At their best, they were paired in glossy, stylish musical comedies like MAYTIME IN MAYFAIR, which is a remake of ROBERTA.

Here, Wilding plays a penniless charmer who inherits a dress shop. The shop is managed by stylish but aloof Anna Neagle. He knows nothing about clothes but is instantly smitten. Along for the ride is his friend (Nicholas Phipps) who gets drunks and divulges details of the fall collection to a rival (Peter Graves) who insists on singing all the time.

After the papers break the news of the new fashions, Neagle takes off in a snit with Graves, leaving Wilding to fail and sell the business. Will things get straightened out? The film's highlights are two musical dream sequences. In one, Wilding imagines the beautiful Neagle as a famous model. In the other, Neagles imagines a slow-motion dance with Wilding. Bother are well done. There's also a big fashion show sequence with all the major London designers represented.

Neagle and Wilding are a perfect team. Neagle has a regal beauty, a good sense of humor and a decent singing and dancing talent. Wilding has a goofy charm that goes well with Neagle's icy demeanor and also dances well. They were hugely popular with British audiences in the 40s and 50s. Phipps is fun as the dopey friend but was also an accomplished director and writer (he wrote the script for this film).

Co-stars include Tom Walls as the inspector, Thora Hird as Janet, Mona Washbourne as Lady Levenson, and Colette Melville as Priscilla.

Fun film. Listen closely to Wilding's jokey asides. Funny!