''Maytime in Mayfair'' is a 1949 British

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and starring

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in British cinema for 2 ...

, Michael Wilding, Nicholas Phipps, and

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

. It was a follow-up to '' Spring in Park Lane''. The film was one of the most popular movies at the British box office in 1949.

Plot

The film begins with a brief history of

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

then shows a man walking into a

florist Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related s ...

in Shepherd Market. Debonair Michael Gore-Brown inherits a London fashion house: Maison Londres. Knowing nothing about business or fashion, he becomes romantically involved with its beautiful manageress, Eileen Grahame, who he says reminds him of

. He blithely helps himself to the petty cash to buy her lunch and brings in his ex-military cousin Sir Henry as a 'business advisor'. They are interrupted by the foppish D'Arcy Davenport, Eileen's fiancé. A nearby rival fashion house learns of Eileen's new secret collection and leaks the story to the papers. It emerges that the cousin accidentally passed the story whilst drunk. Eileen angrily quits the business to work for the rival, who now plans to buy the business at a knock-down price. When she learns that Michael is about to do this, she returns to sort out the mess, and marries him.

Cast

as Eileen Grahame * Michael Wilding as Michael Gore-Brown *

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 and in its reviv ...

as D'Arcy Davenport * Nicholas Phipps as Sir Henry Hazelrigg *

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution. Hird w ...

as Janet *

Michael Shepley Arthur Michael Shepley-Smith (29 September 1907 – 28 September 1961), known professionally as Michael Shepley, was a British actor, appearing in theatre, film and some television between 1929 and 1961. He was born in Plymouth, Devon. Shepl ...

as Shepherd *

as Inspector Hennessey * Max Kirby as Mr Keats * Desmond Walter-Ellis as Mr. Shelley * Tom Walls Jr. as Constable * Doris Rogers as Lady Manbury-Logan-Manbury *

Mona Washbourne Mona Lee Washbourne (27 November 1903 – 15 November 1988) was an English people, English actress of stage, film, and television. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the film ''Stevie (1978 film), Stevie'' (1978), late in her career, for ...

as Lady Leveson

Costume Design

Hardy Amies Sir Edwin Hardy Amies Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, KCVO (17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003) was a British fashion designer, founder of the Hardy Amies (fashion house), Hardy Amies label and a Royal Warrant holder as designer to El ...

* Charles Creed *

Norman Hartnell Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell (12 June 1901 – 8 June 1979) was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the British royal family, royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom ...

* Mattli * Molyneux * Digby Morton * Bianca Mosca * Peter Russell * Victor Stiebel

Production

The film marked the fourth teaming of Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding. After the film started shooting Tom Walls called Wilcox asking for a role. Wilcox put in a part of a policeman for the actor. Filming took place in January through to March 1949. Four lines of clothing were designed specifically for the film.

Soundtrack

*''Maytime in Mayfair'' Music by Harry Parr Davies
Lyrics by Harold Purcell *'' Amor'' Written by Gabriel Ruiz and Ricardo Lopez
English Lyrics by

Sunny Skylar Sunny Skylar (October 11, 1913 – February 2, 2009) was an American music composer, singer, lyricist, and music publisher, often recognized as one of the most prominent songwriters of the Tin Pan Alley era. Sunny Skylar had written over 300 so ...

*''Do I Love You?'' Written by Bruno Bidoli,

David Heneker David William Heneker (31 March 1906 – 30 January 2001) was a writer and composer of British popular music and musicals, best known for creating the music and lyrics for '' Half a Sixpence''. Life and career Heneker was born in Southsea, Eng ...

and Don Pelosi *''I'm Not Going Home'' Written by Kermit Goell and Fred Prisker *''The Moment I Saw You'' Music by Manning Sherwin
Lyrics by Harold Purcell

Reception

Box Office

The film was hugely popular in Britain. The ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' (MPH) was an American film industry trade paper first published as the ''Exhibitors Herald'' in 1915, and MPH from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals ...

'' said it was the third most watched film of the year after ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-Worl ...

'' and '' Johnny Belinda'' and more than '' Scott of the Antarctic'', '' Paleface'', ''

Easter Parade The Easter parade is an American cultural event consisting of a festive strolling procession on Easter Sunday. Typically, it is a somewhat informal and unorganized event, with or without religious significance. Persons participating in an East ...

'', '' The Blue Lagoon'', '' Red River'', '' The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'' and '' The Hasty Heart''. Neagle and Wilding were voted the most popular stars of the year in Britain. According to ''

Kinematograph Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' the 'biggest winner' at the box office in 1949 Britain was ''The Third Man'' with "runners up" being ''Johnny Belinda'', ''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'', ''Paleface'', ''Scott of the Antarctic'', ''The Blue Lagoon'', ''Maytime in Mayfair'', ''Easter Parade'', ''Red River'' and '' You Can't Sleep Here''. However even by December 1949 the film had not recouped its cost.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the film "nauseously Technicolored flimflam"; while ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' noted "The plot is about as simple as they come, but it's told so nicely that you can't help but be charmed. Wilding and Neagle are a sort of British Astaire and Rogers, playing well off each other in this lighthearted romp. The beautiful fashion designs, as well as glorious set decor, are well captured in the Technicolor photography."

References

External links

*
''Maytime in Mayfair'' at BFI Screenonline
{{Herbert Wilcox 1949 films British musical comedy films 1949 musical comedy films Films directed by Herbert Wilcox Films about fashion in the United Kingdom Films set in London British black-and-white films Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1940s English-language films 1940s British films English-language musical comedy films