Enchanted April (1935)

A Masterpiece!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

While Ann Harding and Katharine Alexander are charming as Lotty and Rose, too much time is spent on their husbands, played by Frank Morgan and Reginald Owen. This may be closer to the structure of the play and novel, but it deflates the women's roles when the whole point is their blossoming at the Italian villa.Also shortchanged in this 66-minute version are Mrs. Fisher and Lady Caroline (Jessie Ralph and Jane Baxter) who hardly get to establish their characters. While the basic plot exists, the lush detail that makes the 1991 version so delightful is completely missing. We only get a hint as to how the women change during their enchanted April.While Morgan does an OK job as Wilkins, Owen is overbearing and oafish as Arbuthnot and he dominates far too many scenes with his over-acting. Ralph Forbes, as Briggs the landlord, also gets little to do, and his ultimate attraction to Caroline is pretty much bypassed in favor of reconciliation between Harding and Morgan.The power of the 1991 version lies in its focus on the four women, their growing friendship, and how their enchanted April breaks down the differences in their ages and social strata (very important in 1920s English society). This version smartly downplays the men's roles as secondary to the women's. The 1991 version is a story about how women can grow when freed from their marital and social roles. The 1935 version never gets to this as the women are subservient to the men.Worth seeing for Ann Harding, but don't expect the magic of the 1991 version.

"Elizabeth" was the author's pen name (the original novel was published as "by the author of Elizabeth and her German Garden"), so it wasn't the film company who suppressed her German surname.I caught the last part of this on early morning TV today, and thought it would be interesting to compare it with the delightful 1991 version.I was puzzled that the two couples seemed to have inexplicably swapped names; it should be Mr. Wilkins who has the accident with the water heater and Mr. Arbuthnot who fancies Lady Caroline. The bathroom incident was funny but after that the film seemed to end rather quickly. I thought it very disappointing in comparison with the remake.

Enchanted April was one of Harry Beaumont's last movies- he only directed a few more after this one. He had made the "Maisie" movies in the 1930s and 1940s. In the opening credits, it says "From the novel by Elizabeth", and completely leaves off the author's last name... rather odd, but since it was von Armin, they may not have wanted the German association at the time... Sad to hear it was a flop when it was released, with those fun names like Frank Morgan (the Wizard) and Jessie Ralph, who played W.C. Fields' disapproving mother- in- law in "Bank Dick". Two gals in London (Ann Harding & Katharine Alexander) decide to rent a castle to host two of their friends, but things don't go the way they planned. Reginald Owen plays the husband with multiple personalities. Aside from a few funny moments, it DOES move pretty slow. Ralph is the only bright spot here, as the overbearing take-charge type, and the picture is quite fuzzy and out of focus for much of the film. The views of Italy are all obvious backdrops. The only saving grace here is that the Turner Classic version is only 66 minutes long. Too bad they didn't give Frank Morgan a larger role. This was remade in 1992 by the BBC as a British Film.

Four unhappy women leave dreary London to spend an ENCHANTED APRIL in a castle on the coast of Italy.Elizabeth von Arnim's novel comes alive in this charming little film which beautifully demonstrates the virtues of a literate script and ensemble acting. All the elements come together to produce a movie that, although nearly forgotten now, still produces a feeling of appreciation at the story's appropriate resolution.The actresses each acquit themselves splendidly. Ann Harding is the free-spirited wife longing for 'wisteria & tranquillity' far from foggy London. Katharine Alexander plays the quiet housewife wishing for the elegant responsibility of acting as hostess in the castle. Jane Baxter is the beautiful young noblewoman temporarily escaped from her throng of male admirers. Jessie Ralph steals every scene she's in as an old lady wanting only to be alone with her memories of the past.The men in the story are also well cast. As Miss Harding's husband, Frank Morgan has a rather complex role as a mousy researcher who has a disturbing personality change when he becomes a successful writer. Reginald Owen, as Miss Alexander's spouse, is marvelously pompous as a man well equipped to bore for England (his hilarious attempt to take an English bath in an Italian bathtub is made even funnier with the assistance of Charles Judels & Rafaela Ottiano as the castle's harried servants). Finally, Ralph Forbes, one of the decade's finest forgotten actors, is joyously eccentric as the ladies' lighthearted landlord.Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Ethel Griffies playing the proprietress of the Hampstead Housewives Club.