Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Brent Reid Many other reviewers inexplicably focus on how the 1935 adaptation of Enchanted April isn't faithful to the 1922 source novel by Elizabeth von Arnim or is somehow inferior to the longer 1991 version. Sadly for them, they're missing the point. Firstly, this is a work complete in and of itself, and neither enhanced nor diminished by specious comparison to a related work. Secondly, it isn't actually based directly on the novel, but the successful 1925 Broadway play that the novel inspired, hence this being a US as opposed to European-made film. A single viewing makes this fact abundantly clear. What's more, at a mere but adequate 95 minutes, the excellent 1991 version is not – and could not – be faithful to the novel either.What we do have here is an utterly charming and concise little film that, despite its US studio-bound production, effectively establishes both mood and mise-en-scène, especially by clever use of rear projection, matte paintings and spacious, well-appointed sets. Even within the necessarily limited characterisations and plot development dictated to by its abbreviated running time of 66 minutes, it manages to squeeze in much humour, both subtle and slapstick, wry, witty dialogue and an unexpectedly powerful and poignant ending. Lastly, and perhaps most of all, it leaves you wanting more; what more could one ask of any film? Enchanted April is a masterclass in brevity and economy in its storytelling and filmmaking, and is highly recommended to all fans of early talkies.As for actually seeing it, aside from infrequent TV airings, as of 2017 is via the only authorised home video release: a 2005 region 2 French DVD on the Editions Montparnasse label, titled Avril enchanté. It features a very clean print from an unconverted NTSC- PAL master, hence its unaltered running time, and optional French subtitles in a small yellow font. Additionally, there is an informative 2½ minute intro – in French, sans sous-titres – by film historian and restorer Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films. Just be careful to avoid the lesser- quality counterfeit Spanish DVD, titled Un Abril Encantado, on the Vértice Cine label.You're in for a rare treat – enjoy!

k.m.bunting "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.

arwebevenstar I had been delighted to find that TCM was showing this, as I love the 1992 version with Josie Lawrence, Jim Broadbent, Joan Plowright...This film had a luminous Ann Harding, a wonderful performance by Frank Morgan, but others' acting made the film more of a farce then the wonderful unfolding that the later film. Reginald Owen's Arbuthnot is painful to watch and you can't understand why his wife adores him. I found out after watching the film that it was based on the stage play where the 1992 film is based on the book. The original film also felt like it was a snippet of a larger piece and felt incomplete. Too bad it was such a let-down.

Ron Oliver 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.