''Enchanted April'' is a 1935 American

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Harry Beaumont Harry Beaumont (10 February 1888 – 22 December 1966) was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including 20th Century Fox, Fox, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn, Metro Picture ...

and starring

Ann Harding Ann Harding (born Dorothy Walton Gatley; August 7, 1902 – September 1, 1981) was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress. A regular player on Broadway and in regional theater in the 1920s, in the 1930s Harding was ...

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

and

Katharine Alexander Katharine Alexander (September 22, 1898 - February 10, 1981) was an American actress on stage and screen. She appeared in 44 films between 1930 and 1951. Her first name was sometimes spelled Katherine in billing. Biography Alexander was born ...

. 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 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 the 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

Setting

San Salvatore is based on

Castello Brown Castello Brown is a historic house museum located high above the harbour of Portofino, Italy. Its site has been used for military defence since Roman times. As a Genoese coastal fort, it was called the ''Castello di San Giorgio''. After peace fe ...

, overlooking

Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th century ...

, 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".

Cast

as Lottie Wilkins *

as Rose Arbuthnot *

as Mr. Wilkins *

Reginald Owen John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs. Career The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...

as Mr. Arbuthnot *

Jane Baxter Jane Baxter (9 September 1909 – 13 September 1996) was a British actress. Her stage career spanned half a century, and she appeared in a number of films and in television. Early life Baxter was born as Feodora Kathleen Alice Forde in Bremen, ...

as Lady Caroline Dester *

Ralph Forbes Ralph Forbes (born Ralph Forbes Taylor; 30 September 1904 – 31 March 1951) was an English film and stage actor active in Britain and the United States. Early life Forbes was born in Wandsworth, London, the son of Ernest John "E.J." and Eth ...

as Mr. Briggs *

Jessie Ralph Jessie Ralph Patton ( Chambers; November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944), known as Jessie Ralph, was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic films. Early life Jessie Ralph Chambers was the 13th child ...

as Mrs. Fisher *

Charles Judels Charles Judels (August 17, 1882 - February 14, 1969) was a Dutch-born American actor. Early years Judels was born on August 17, 1882, in Amsterdam as a third generation in a family of actors. His grandfather owned several theatres throughout t ...

as Domenico *

Rafaela Ottiano Rafaela Ottiano (4 March 1888 – 15 August 1942) was an Italian-American stage and film actress. Early life Rafaela Ottiano was born in Venice, Italy. She immigrated to the United States with her parents and was processed at Ellis Island in 1 ...

as Francesca

Home video

As of 2017, ''Enchanted April'' has only seen one authorised home video release: a 2005 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 2 minute intro – in French, without subtitles – by film historian and restorer Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films. There is also a lesser-quality counterfeit 2013 Spanish DVD, titled ''Un Abril Encantado''.

References

External links

*
''Enchanted April''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

''Enchanted April''

article
''Enchanted April''
1935 ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' review 1935 films 1930s romantic comedy-drama films Films set in London Films set in Liguria American black-and-white films RKO Pictures films Films based on British novels American romantic comedy-drama films 1935 comedy films 1935 drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-drama-film-stub