Berkeley Square was written as a play in three acts by John L. Balderston in 1926.
Balderston was the London correspondent for the New York Herald, and a descendent of Betsy Ross - Revolutionary War era seamstress.
Whether this fact was the basis of any part of the play I have no idea.
After a strong London run, the play came to Broadway in 1929, starring Leslie Howard, Valerie Taylor and Irene Browne, and again was met with success.
Purchased by Fox, Berkeley Square became a 1933 production that allowed the Broadway cast to bring their roles to the film, as directed by Frank Lloyd.
The NY Times considered it to be one of the best pictures of 1933.
I first became familiar with the work around 1952 or so in re-run as a re-make entitled I'll Never Forget You, a 1951 Fox production.
For whatever reason this fantasy-drama caught my attention and has stayed with me for some five decades.
Knowing the condition of the Fox nitrate elements, I was concerned about what INFY might look like, but Fox has delivered a reasonably good looking transfer of the film, in what appears to be derived from a surviving dye transfer print.
Color is quite good, along with blacks, and a modicum of shadow detail. Like all dye transfer prints of this era, the image is softer than it would be if original elements had survived.
All in all, I've very pleased to finally have this film on DVD.
To me, I'll Never Forget You is the most important film in Fox's newly minted Tyrone Power / Matinee Idol Collection released today.
Along with it come 9 other Tyrone Power films, which equates to approximately 20% of his life's work. Many of his major productions have already been released, the majority by Fox Home Video and are all in print.
I guess things all come down to dollars however, and this is an easy one for me.
I would have been more than willing to pay $25 or more for I'll Never along.
Fox has thoughtfully priced the collection at street at $35 -- that $3.50 per film. And that is a bargain.
Other stand-outs in the collection, which runs from Mr. Power's early Girls' Dormitory (1936) through the 1951 I'll Never Forget You are This Above All directed by Anatole Litvak in 1942, and Henry Hathaway's Johnny Apollo (1940).
If you've never known about I'll Never Forget You, I'd advise reading nothing about it. No reviews. Just go into it cold. And let me know what you think.
The Tyrone Power Collection is Highly Recommended.
RAH
Balderston was the London correspondent for the New York Herald, and a descendent of Betsy Ross - Revolutionary War era seamstress.
Whether this fact was the basis of any part of the play I have no idea.
After a strong London run, the play came to Broadway in 1929, starring Leslie Howard, Valerie Taylor and Irene Browne, and again was met with success.
Purchased by Fox, Berkeley Square became a 1933 production that allowed the Broadway cast to bring their roles to the film, as directed by Frank Lloyd.
The NY Times considered it to be one of the best pictures of 1933.
I first became familiar with the work around 1952 or so in re-run as a re-make entitled I'll Never Forget You, a 1951 Fox production.
For whatever reason this fantasy-drama caught my attention and has stayed with me for some five decades.
Knowing the condition of the Fox nitrate elements, I was concerned about what INFY might look like, but Fox has delivered a reasonably good looking transfer of the film, in what appears to be derived from a surviving dye transfer print.
Color is quite good, along with blacks, and a modicum of shadow detail. Like all dye transfer prints of this era, the image is softer than it would be if original elements had survived.
All in all, I've very pleased to finally have this film on DVD.
To me, I'll Never Forget You is the most important film in Fox's newly minted Tyrone Power / Matinee Idol Collection released today.
Along with it come 9 other Tyrone Power films, which equates to approximately 20% of his life's work. Many of his major productions have already been released, the majority by Fox Home Video and are all in print.
I guess things all come down to dollars however, and this is an easy one for me.
I would have been more than willing to pay $25 or more for I'll Never along.
Fox has thoughtfully priced the collection at street at $35 -- that $3.50 per film. And that is a bargain.
Other stand-outs in the collection, which runs from Mr. Power's early Girls' Dormitory (1936) through the 1951 I'll Never Forget You are This Above All directed by Anatole Litvak in 1942, and Henry Hathaway's Johnny Apollo (1940).
If you've never known about I'll Never Forget You, I'd advise reading nothing about it. No reviews. Just go into it cold. And let me know what you think.
The Tyrone Power Collection is Highly Recommended.
RAH
