April Love Blu-ray Review
Remade from the original 1944 film Home in Indiana, the script for April Love was adapted by Winston Miller with the score provided by two-time Oscar-winning songwriters Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster. It’s a really low key affair with the drag race, a scene nursing a sick horse, and the climactic trotting race being the film’s three major sequences of conflict. For the rest, there are a satisfying selection of lilting tunes for Pat Boone and Shirley Jones to sing and some fumbling attempts at romance (which must have frustrated the youth of the era since everything is so chaste). Boone, of course, gets the major share of vocalizing: his opening “Clover in the Meadow” which allows us to see he’s quite far from being one of the juvenile delinquents from Blackboard Jungle, “Give Me a Gentle Girl” as he sings of his aspirations for love (also sung later in a female turnabout by Shirley Jones staged in what amounts to the most provocative shots for this film as she strips off her clothes to take a shower), and, naturally, the melting title song which offers the apotheosis of youthful romantic yearning. Somewhat disappointing after coming off two mammoth leading film roles in Rodgers and Hammerstein classics Oklahoma! and Carousel, Shirley gets only that one solo and some snatches of the title song sung in duet with Pat, and the jauntiest number in the movie: “Do It Yourself” as the four youngsters (Nick, Liz, Fran, and her boy friend Al played by Brad Jackson) prepare for a barbecue and “Come to the Bentonville Fair” which precedes the trotting race are the film’s only other numbers. Director Henry Levin does use the wide Cinemascope frame imaginatively, often staging sequences with actors covering the full width or having two actors on opposite sides of the screen.
With his first film Bernadine and this movie both appearing in 1957, their great success propelled Pat Boone to the number three position among the top ten box-office stars of the year. He’s perfectly natural before the camera and despite playing something of a problem teen, couldn’t present a more wholesome or appealing screen presence (his pop singing rival at the time, Elvis Presley, by the way, ranked below Pat in fourth position that year). While providing ingénue leading lady Shirley Jones with an adequate role as Boone’s quasi-romantic interest, the role is really a step down for her after her earlier musical triumphs though Jones imbues the part with enough fire and pluck to make it worth her while. Always a comfortable screen presence, Arthur O'Connell warms to the lad over the course of the film and becomes a welcome father figure for him. As the loving aunt, Jeanette Nolan doesn’t get quite as many opportunities to shine that O’Connell gets, but she radiates warmth just the same. Dolores Michaels and Brad Jackson as the other young duo in the mix do fine (their singing voices were dubbed by Eileen Wilson and Ray Kellogg) within the limited range of their participation.
Isolated Score Track: offered in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo.
Theatrical Trailer (2:32, SD)
Six-Page Booklet: offers a lovely selection of color stills, original poster art on the back cover, and film historian Julie Kirgo’s astute essay on the movie.
Another of Twentieth Century Fox’s musicalized remakes of a non-musical original, Henry Levin’s April Love is a sweetly pleasant if undemanding tuneful trifle. The second film of star Pat Boone’s movie career and one of his biggest hits with a million seller, Oscar-nominated title song to go along with it, April Love recalls a more easy-going time, the bucolic setting and hard-working country people suggests an earlier Fox hit State Fair. April Love doesn’t have the hit-filled score that movie contained, but the charming actors and the undemanding storyline make for quite agreeable viewing.
Studio: Fox
Distributed By: Twilight Time
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: None
Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 1 Hr. 39 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
clear keep caseDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: All
Release Date: 04/14/2015
MSRP: $29.95
The Production Rating: 3.5/5
Remade from the original 1944 film Home in Indiana, the script for April Love was adapted by Winston Miller with the score provided by two-time Oscar-winning songwriters Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster. It’s a really low key affair with the drag race, a scene nursing a sick horse, and the climactic trotting race being the film’s three major sequences of conflict. For the rest, there are a satisfying selection of lilting tunes for Pat Boone and Shirley Jones to sing and some fumbling attempts at romance (which must have frustrated the youth of the era since everything is so chaste). Boone, of course, gets the major share of vocalizing: his opening “Clover in the Meadow” which allows us to see he’s quite far from being one of the juvenile delinquents from Blackboard Jungle, “Give Me a Gentle Girl” as he sings of his aspirations for love (also sung later in a female turnabout by Shirley Jones staged in what amounts to the most provocative shots for this film as she strips off her clothes to take a shower), and, naturally, the melting title song which offers the apotheosis of youthful romantic yearning. Somewhat disappointing after coming off two mammoth leading film roles in Rodgers and Hammerstein classics Oklahoma! and Carousel, Shirley gets only that one solo and some snatches of the title song sung in duet with Pat, and the jauntiest number in the movie: “Do It Yourself” as the four youngsters (Nick, Liz, Fran, and her boy friend Al played by Brad Jackson) prepare for a barbecue and “Come to the Bentonville Fair” which precedes the trotting race are the film’s only other numbers. Director Henry Levin does use the wide Cinemascope frame imaginatively, often staging sequences with actors covering the full width or having two actors on opposite sides of the screen.
With his first film Bernadine and this movie both appearing in 1957, their great success propelled Pat Boone to the number three position among the top ten box-office stars of the year. He’s perfectly natural before the camera and despite playing something of a problem teen, couldn’t present a more wholesome or appealing screen presence (his pop singing rival at the time, Elvis Presley, by the way, ranked below Pat in fourth position that year). While providing ingénue leading lady Shirley Jones with an adequate role as Boone’s quasi-romantic interest, the role is really a step down for her after her earlier musical triumphs though Jones imbues the part with enough fire and pluck to make it worth her while. Always a comfortable screen presence, Arthur O'Connell warms to the lad over the course of the film and becomes a welcome father figure for him. As the loving aunt, Jeanette Nolan doesn’t get quite as many opportunities to shine that O’Connell gets, but she radiates warmth just the same. Dolores Michaels and Brad Jackson as the other young duo in the mix do fine (their singing voices were dubbed by Eileen Wilson and Ray Kellogg) within the limited range of their participation.
Video Rating: 4/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4/5
Special Features Rating: 3.5/5
Isolated Score Track: offered in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo.
Theatrical Trailer (2:32, SD)
Six-Page Booklet: offers a lovely selection of color stills, original poster art on the back cover, and film historian Julie Kirgo’s astute essay on the movie.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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