Sudden romance in exotic or mysterious places makes for unemotional and morally questionable drama, and this British film is absolutely charming throughout. Perhaps it is the Austrian atmosphere, taking the viewer through the mountains where Maria Rainier Von Trapp may have spun around while I none and before becoming a nanny. You get to see the dangerous roads, and it is a beautiful sight to behold. For spinster school teacher Faye Compton, romance is unexpected and it comes in the form of the charming Ivor Novello, a worker at the charming inn where she stays with fellow schoolteachers. novello graciously agrees to show Compton around the countryside and she slowly begins to fall in love with him, not realizing until he tells her that he is married. What will a spinster English school teacher do? Return home if her elder advisors have their way!
Yes, there is a bit of "Time of the Cuckoo" and later the film version, "Summertime" and the ultimate Broadway musical, "Do I Hear a Waltz?" here, but this is the Austrian mountainside, not the canals of Venice. Compton appears to be younger than her years and Novello is so naively charming that it would be difficult for anybody under their spell to resist. Compton initially does not attract him, thanks to glasses and a plain hairstyle, but when she removes them and does her hair, she's quite different looking. In fact, he doesn't even recognize her.
There are certainly elements of this story that could not be told today, and the themes certainly are dated. But thanks to the direction, photography and realistic dialogue, it is easy to see why audiences might have been entranced by this quick love story back in the day. The technical aspects of this film are absolutely brilliant, and indeed it has pedigree in the fact that the assistant director was the future Oscar inner Carol Reed. So put away your cynicism, open your heart up to the beautiful music of the Austrian countryside and let yourself sing with the sound of music that comes thanks to an almost perfect environment.
Yes, there is a bit of "Time of the Cuckoo" and later the film version, "Summertime" and the ultimate Broadway musical, "Do I Hear a Waltz?" here, but this is the Austrian mountainside, not the canals of Venice. Compton appears to be younger than her years and Novello is so naively charming that it would be difficult for anybody under their spell to resist. Compton initially does not attract him, thanks to glasses and a plain hairstyle, but when she removes them and does her hair, she's quite different looking. In fact, he doesn't even recognize her.
There are certainly elements of this story that could not be told today, and the themes certainly are dated. But thanks to the direction, photography and realistic dialogue, it is easy to see why audiences might have been entranced by this quick love story back in the day. The technical aspects of this film are absolutely brilliant, and indeed it has pedigree in the fact that the assistant director was the future Oscar inner Carol Reed. So put away your cynicism, open your heart up to the beautiful music of the Austrian countryside and let yourself sing with the sound of music that comes thanks to an almost perfect environment.
