Spring In Park Lane (1948)

The niece and secretary (Anna Neagle) of a wealthy art collector (Tom Walls) finds the new footman (Michael Wilding) anything but a lowly servant. He arouses her suspicions and she is determined to find out his true identity. Based on the novel COME OUT OF THE KITCHEN by Alice Duer Miller and directed by Herbert Wilcox (NO NO NANETTE). A huge success in Great Britain (it was the highest grossing British film of 1948), this is a modestly charming romantic comedy. So popular that Wilcox reunited Neagle and Wilding the following year in MAYTIME IN MAYFAIR and it was another big hit for the trio. PARK LANE's popularity wasn't repeated in the U.S. But it has a certain "quaint" appeal and I found Neagle more appealing than usual and one can see why Wilding was a box office favorite among the Brits. Wilding would soon move to Hollywood where his British success wasn't duplicated (but he did marry Elizabeth Taylor). With Marjorie Fielding and Nigel Patrick.