Autumn Crocus (film)

Autumn Crocus is a 1934 British romance film directed by Basil Dean and starring Ivor Novello, Fay Compton and Muriel Aked.[1] The film follows a teacher who falls in love with the married owner of the guest house in which she is staying during a holiday to Austria. It was based on Dodie Smith's first play Autumn Crocus, previously a West End hit for director Basil Dean.[2][3] The film was made by Associated Talking Pictures at Ealing Studios, with art direction by Edward Carrick. It was the final film appearance of its star, Ivor Novello. A contemporary reviewer wrote, "Novello's schoolboy knees under his Tyrolean shorts make the audience, if not the players, feel bashful".[4]

Autumn Crocus
Ivor Novello and Fay Compton
Directed byBasil Dean
Written byDorothy Farnum
Basil Dean
Based onAutumn Crocus by Dodie Smith
Produced byBasil Dean
StarringIvor Novello
Fay Compton
Muriel Aked
Esme Church
CinematographyRobert Martin
Edited byWalter S. Stern
Music byErnest Irving
Production
company
Distributed byAssociated British
Release date
February 1934
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Cast

Reception

The New York Times reviewer wrote, "the wistful romance of the fading English schoolmistress and the cheerful Tyrolean inn-keeper drags in its telling, and this in the face of the presence of Fay Compton and Ivor Novello in the principal rôles and of Basil Dean's direction".[5] The critic felt that Compton overacted, surprising since she played the role on stage for more than sixty weeks, in contrast to "the performances of Mr. Novello, Muriel Aked and Esme Church, who did well, indeed."[5] Still, the reviewer felt that Autumn Crocus "has a delicate charm, is handsomely photographed and presents a refreshingly different solution to a problem that would have had Hollywood's script-writers dashing madly in all directions."[5]

References
  1. "Autumn Crocus". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 November 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  2. Dodie Smith. "Dodie Smith". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  3. Shail, Robert (2007). British Film Directors. ISBN 9780748622313. Retrieved 18 December 2016 – via Google.co.uk.
  4. Geoffrey Macnab. "The rise and fall of Ivor Novello". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  5. F. S. N. (25 October 1934). "Movie Review - - Love Begins at 35". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2016.

Bibliography
  • Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
  • Perry, George. Forever Ealing. Pavilion Books, 1994.
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