Lilacs In The Spring

Anna Neagle is a favorite of mine. She was fifty when she made this film but her beauty and talent are more potent than ever. This is strictly for fans and is beautifully produced by her husband Herbert Wilcox. It would be nice to have a restored copy but this one will do nicely. Buy it if you are a fan or you might become one by watching this sort of That's Entertainment of Anna Neagle's career. She revisits earlier triumphs and has scenes as Queen Victoria as well as playing Nell Gynn. I found this film thoroughly enjoyable!

In my ongoing quest to see all the Errol Flynn movies that I can, I gave this a look. First, Errol Flynn is once again - awesome (although one has to wait 37 minutes into the film until his part kicks in proper). Second, the dream within a dream approach of this movie is poorly handled. If ever I've seen a film & wished I could save only half of it, then it is "Lilacs In The Spring." The first half deals with a young woman torn between two men; the second half concerns the tragic love story of that same woman's parents. It is the second half that really shines with its echoes of "A Star Is Born." Flynn's portrayal of a fading dancer turned Hollywood actor is so memorable and honest. The sadness in his eyes come from a soul that understands his character all too well & it is heartbreaking to behold at times. Unfortunately, too much meandering in the first half to give the film overall a positive rating.

There just isn't an actor to compare to Errol Flynn, he is the best thing that happened to this movie.

This movie was a delight to watch.Comedy,drama,music and dance.Flynn's speaking voice was wonderful to listen to and I loved the shoft shoe number.He could act,dance,sing and play a wide variety of characters

A very nice movie with a story, which is written right out of real life. Absolutely worth seeing. 100%.

First a word about 'gray market' DVDs--Often, transfers are not of the highest quality. The movies themselves are unrestored and rarely pristine (but still watchable), extras are non-existent and inclusion of artwork or liner notes varies by manufacturer. These niche companies can however provide a valuable outlet for movies unavailable anywhere else..In the British-made melodrama LILACS IN THE SPRING (aka "Let's Make Up"), Errol Flynn's wife, Anna Neagle, who was five years his senior plays the aging matinee idol's daughter *and* his wife. (Freudians would have a field day with this one!)Neagle's character sustains a head injury during a WWII air raid and her long-absent father (Flynn) flies from America to be with her. While unconscious, Neagle dreams she's both Queen Victoria and her mother, a former prominent stage star. Thus, when Flynn (in flashback) meets the yet-to-be-successful Neagle (as her mother) and marries her, she's his hallucinatory wife and his hospitalized daughter. (...just lie back on the couch, please...)In her flashback, with Flynn's help Neagle's fame grows while the mediocre music hall soft-shoer's career falters. Out of desperation, he leaves wife and young daughter for America and a movie career, never to return until the bombing injury. In fairness to Flynn, his wife refuses to abandon the British stage to accompany him to America. They eventually divorce and she dies in an accident.NOTES:Both Flynn and Neagle get to sing and dance here. Sean Connery, who began his career as a chorus boy, supposedly appears in one of these sequences. Stephen Boyd has a bit part as Flynn's poolside companion. He was the original choice for a role that Connery eventually got: James Bond in DR. NO (1962). The Peter Graves portraying Prince Albert is *not* the American actor.Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 IMDb viewer poll rating.(5.5) Lilacs in the Spring (UK-1954) - Errol Flynn/Anna Neagle/David Farrar/Kathleen Harrison/Peter Graves/Helen Haye/Scott Sanders (uncredited: Sean Connery/Stephen Boyd)

About the only thing worth seeing is Errol Flynn's attempt at song and dance. He was good in this. But it's a rather disjointed story.The film isn't in very good condition either. There were many places where the film is badly discolored....at least on the VHS version....and several skips througout the film that causes you to miss some of the dialogue.

Bought as a follow on as I purchased the Anna Neagle Collection which I thoroughly enjoy, especially Derby Day, I am becoming an Anna Neagle fan so seeing this bought it without hesitating. I really enjoyed the story. The only disappointment was the quality of the print used to copy as it had suffered some damage as there was an occasional jump in the movement which having worked in a cinema usually indicated a few frames missing. However I have onl rated the purchase on my enjoyment of the film.

Interesting to see Errol F. in this fluff. Okay nostalgia. Not unmissible stuff, except for above stated reason.

I saw this movie in the cinema many years ago, it's pretty to look at, Errol Flynne is past his prime but tries hard even dancing a little, Anna Neagle was a tropper as always, not a great actress dancer or singer but giving it all she could,still always love seeing her old movies, this movie is for those who want a nostalgic look again into the charm of those older days of cinema.

Perfect

THE LILACS IN THE SPRING is a very old fashioned romantic love story. Its atmosphere reminds me of it in the same time Japanese films directed byYasujiro Ozu. Errol Flynn's part woukd be Ryu Chishu. Anna Neagle acted like Setsuko Hara. As for the world of those films, Herbert Wilcox and Ozucreated the same good old days romance basically. Although we never go back to their world again. it is still attractive for us.