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Wonderful 30s British musical based on a show by Rodgers and Hart that never played on Broadway.

Jessie Matthews stars as Harriet Green, the toast of the London stage in the early 1900s when she suddenly retires and disappears in South Africa because she has an illegitimate child by a man who is blackmailing her. 30 years later a young actress is making the rounds and is discovered because she is a dead ringer for old Harriet. Of course she is the daughter.

But a desperate producer (Sonnie Hale) and a publicity man (Barry McKay) come up with a plan to foist the girl off as the original, ageless Harriet (evergreen). She is a sensation. But her success causes all sorts or problems when the blackmailer returns and when McKay falls in love with her (after he has been proclaimed to be her son!).

Fanciful plot is far-fetched, but the cast is excellent in this terrific musical by two American greats. And Jessie Matthews is superb. She was a major musical comedy star of the British stage and screen from the 20s through WW II. And she is incandescent here in her best film.

This is maybe the most Hollywood-looking musical the Brits produced in the 1930s. Matthews has one great production number when as old Harriet she does a succession of dance numbers, each one going back ten years to the 1890s. In between each number she flips a giant hour glass to denote the passage of time.

Matthews was a great dancer and singer and in EVERGREEN she was never better. She has another great number in "Dancing on the Ceiling" in which she shows her famous high kicks and arched back moves. Hale (her husband) and McKay are also good. Betty Balfour as Maudie has an hysterical bit when she does an aria from "Rigoletto." My VHS copy has bad sound but it's a terrific old film and a chance to see the legendary Jessie Matthews in her best role.

Jessie Matthews re-creates the role she originated in the 1930 Rodgers & Hart London stage production. From that production, only three songs from the original score made the transition to the film, one of which, "Dancing On The Ceiling", has become an American standard. Additional songs were provided by American composer, Harry Woods.

While Matthews was nicknamed "The Dancing Divinity", she was also admired for her singing. She reportedly was a very popular and prolific recording artist in England. In this role, she sings as much, if not more, than she dances. Nevertheless, she was a skilled dancer, certainly equal to any of the dancing ladies of the 1930s. You'll see Matthews perform a variety of different dance styles in this film.

"Evergreen" was reportedly a very popular and profitable film in both England and America. This was the first of several musical comedy films done by Matthews, in which she had the lead starring role. It's interesting to watch if you enjoy 1930s musicals and their stars, especially if you enjoy dance in film. This film can be obtained on VHS.

Evergreen gives us a chance to see Jessie Matthews who starred on stage as well as screen in the United Kingdom in the role that made her a star. So few stars of the 30s and 40s were able to recreate their roles so we are fortunate indeed.

Charles Cochran of the London stage, the British equivalent of Florenz Ziegfeld hired American songwriters Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart to write the score for Evergreen. As it is in Hollywood the Gaumont- British only retained a few Rodgers&Hart songs, most importantly Dancing On A Ceiling which was Matthews's first big hit. Some British musical bits and new songs written by British songwriter Harry Woods were written for this film including Over My Shoulder which also became identified with Jessie Matthews.

Only later on after Matthews prime years did she go to Hollywood for films turning down a lot of offers. I understand that Gaumont-British also tried to get Fred Astaire to co-star with no success. She and Astaire would have been marvelous.

The story has Matthews first appearing on the London stage in the Victorian era and becoming a smash success. But the impending birth of a daughter out of wedlock forces her to retire to South Africa. Going to the Thirties Matthews as her own daughter is seeking employment when publicity agent Barry MacKay convinces producer/star Sonnie Hale to feature the daughter as her ageless mother making a comeback.

Unfortnunate her low life of a sperm donor Hartley Power shows up and threatens to blow the whole thing wide open. This is a Fedora like scheme played a little more lightly.

Matthews sings and dances divinely especially with Sonnie Hale with whom she was involved in real life and who became her second husband.

Rightly so Evergreen is considered the best British musical from that era. I haven't seen better and it holds up well today.

I must add to the other raves on this page. This is an utterly charming and delightful film, derived from the London production of a Rodgers and Hart musical. Sadly, only three of their songs are retained, but one is the classic DANCING ON THE CEILING. Five songs by Henry M. Woods and others fill out the score.

Matthews is a sheer delight, reminding me of Joan Collins, Julie Andrews, Jane Wyatt and Jennifer Jones, all rolled into one.

The plot is cute and its twists and turns are fun. It moves swiftly with marvelous performances and the cinematography, art direction and editing are all top notch.

I saw an impeccable print on Turner. Highly recommended to all musical film enthusiasts.

The order of songs as they appear in the film:

DADDY WOULDN'T BUY ME A BOW WOW (Tabrar) I WOULDN'T LEAVE MY LITTLE WOODEN HUT (Collins/Mellor) A LITTLE SPRINGTIME IN YOUR HEART (Woods) IF I GIVE IN TO YOU (Rodgers/Hart) TINKLE, TINKLE, TINKLE (Woods) DEAR DEAR (Rodgers/Hart) DANCING ON THE CEILING (Rodgers/Hart) OVER MY SHOULDERR (Woods)

"Evergreen" was an original Rodgers and Hart creation, both in story and music, successfully produced on stage in 1930 in Glasgow and London by British impresario, C. B. Cochran. Gaumont British Picture loosely adapted the show into a Hollywood style musical in this 1934 version. Three Rodgers and Hart songs were retained, most notably, "Dancing on the Ceiling." In addition, three songs by the American composer, Harry Woods were interpolated, including the movie's main theme, "When You've Got a Little Springtime in Your Heart."

Fortunately, for lovers of 1930's musicals, Evergreen's breezy plot, lilting music, and stylish dancing routines all come together to highlight the talents and beauty of British musical queen, Jessie Matthews. The willowy, long-legged Mathews is a singing and dancing revelation, as charming and lovable a musical comedy heroine as ever seen on either side of the Atlantic.

This movie is a joy in every way. As refrained by composer Woods: "And each happy scene will be Evergreen as the sweetest morning in June, when you've got a little springtime in your heart."