Enchanted April (1935 film)

Enchanted April
Directed by	Harry Beaumont
Written by	Samuel Hoffenstein Ray Harris
Based on	The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Produced by	Kenneth Macgowan
Starring	Ann Harding Frank Morgan Katharine Alexander Reginald Owen Jane Baxter Ralph Forbes Jessie Ralph Charles Judels Rafaela Ottiano
Cinematography	Edward Cronjager
Edited by	George Hively
Music by	Roy Webb
Production company	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date	February 1, 1935 (1935-02-01)
Running time	66 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$346,000
Box office	$165,000

Enchanted April is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Ann Harding, Frank Morgan and Katharine Alexander. It was made by RKO Pictures. The original 1922 novel The Enchanted April has also been adapted for the stage multiple times, and adapted for the 1991 British film by screenwriter Peter Barnes.

Plot

At Hampstead Court Housewives Club, two women sit in the living room with a fireplace. Outside it's raining. One of the women reads a book (a biography of Madame du Barry); the other woman is nervously looking around the room and finally decides to look up the newspaper. When she sees a certain announcement, she has to talk, saying to the other woman how beautiful it would be to leave dreadful London and go south to Italy, renting a castle for two or more people and splitting the costs. So they find their way to San Salvatore, and the Enchanted April is there from the very minute they arrive.

Their husbands and lovers are soon popping up and passing by, and the Italians who know, understand the English people. A mixture of slapstick comedy and on the other side the rarefied figure of Ann Harding.

Cast

• Ann Harding as Lottie Wilkins
• Katharine Alexander as Rose Arbuthnot
• Frank Morgan as Mr. Wilkins
• Reginald Owen as Mr. Arbuthnot
• Jane Baxter as Lady Caroline Dester
• Ralph Forbes as Mr. Briggs
• Jessie Ralph as Mrs. Fisher
• Charles Judels as Domenico
• Rafaela Ottiano as Francesca

Setting

San Salvatore is based on Castello Brown, overlooking Portofino, where Elizabeth von Arnim had stayed. The film was not shot on location, but Jane Baxter did visit later "to see what the house was really like".

Home media

Enchanted April was released in 2005 on a region 2 French DVD on the "Éditions Montparnasse" label, titled Avril enchanté. It features a very clean print from an unconverted NTSC-PAL master, hence its unaltered 66 minute running time, and optional French subtitles in a small yellow font. Additionally, there is an informative 21⁄2 minute intro – in French, without subtitles – by film historian and restorer Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films.

External links

• Enchanted April at IMDb
• Enchanted April at TCMDB
• Enchanted April TCMDB article
• Enchanted April 1935 The New York Times review