Autumn Crocus (film)

Autumn Crocus is a 1934 British romance film directed by Basil Dean and starring Ivor Novello, Fay Compton and Muriel Aked.^[1] The film follows a teacher who falls in love with the married owner of the guest house in which she is staying during a holiday to Austria. It was based on Dodie Smith's first play Autumn Crocus, previously a West End hit for director Basil Dean.^[2][3] The film was made by Associated Talking Pictures at Ealing Studios, with art direction by Edward Carrick. It was the final film appearance of its star, Ivor Novello. A contemporary reviewer wrote, "Novello's schoolboy knees under his Tyrolean shorts make the audience, if not the players, feel bashful".^[4]

Autumn Crocus
Ivor Novello and Fay Compton
Directed by	Basil Dean
Written by	Dorothy Farnum Basil Dean
Based on	Autumn Crocus by Dodie Smith
Produced by	Basil Dean
Starring	Ivor Novello Fay Compton Muriel Aked Esme Church
Cinematography	Robert Martin
Edited by	Walter S. Stern
Music by	Ernest Irving
Production company	Associated Talking Pictures
Distributed by	Associated British
Release date	February 1934 (1934-02)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Cast

• Ivor Novello as Andreas Steiner
• Fay Compton as Jenny Grey
• Muriel Aked as Miss Mayne
• Esme Church as Edith
• Frederick Ranalow as Herr Feldmann
• Jack Hawkins as Alaric
• Diana Beaumont as Audrey
• Mignon O'Doherty as Frau Feldmann
• George Zucco as Reverend Mayne
• Gertrude Gould as Frau Steiner
• Alyce Sandor as Minna
• Pamela Blake as Lenchen

Reception

The New York Times reviewer wrote, "the wistful romance of the fading English schoolmistress and the cheerful Tyrolean inn-keeper drags in its telling, and this in the face of the presence of Fay Compton and Ivor Novello in the principal rôles and of Basil Dean's direction".^[5] The critic felt that Compton overacted, surprising since she played the role on stage for more than sixty weeks, in contrast to "the performances of Mr. Novello, Muriel Aked and Esme Church, who did well, indeed."^[5] Still, the reviewer felt that Autumn Crocus "has a delicate charm, is handsomely photographed and presents a refreshingly different solution to a problem that would have had Hollywood's script-writers dashing madly in all directions."^[5]