Let's Make Up (1954)
"Lilacs in the Spring" (original title)

A young actress must decide which of two lovers will be her husband. She daydreams about each one to help her decide.

Director:

Herbert Wilcox

Writers:

Robert Nesbitt (book), Harold Purcell (book)

Stars:

Errol Flynn, Anna Neagle, David Farrar

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Errol Flynn	...	John 'Beau' Beaumont
Anna Neagle	...	Carole Beaumont / Lillian Grey / Nell Gwynn / Queen Victoria
David Farrar	...	Charles King / King Charles II
Kathleen Harrison	...	Kate
Peter Graves	...	Albert Gutman / Prince Albert
Helen Haye	...	Lady Drayton
Scott Sanders	...	Old George
Alma Taylor	...	1st Woman
Hetty King	...	2nd Woman
Alan Gifford	...	Hollywood Director
Jennifer Mitchell	...	Young Carole
Gillian Harrison	...	Very Young Carole
George Margo	...	Reporter

Storyline

A young entertainer, Carole Beaumont, is wooed by actor-producer Charles King but, uncertain of her feelings, she resists his attentions. During an air raid, a bomb explosion rocks the café and Carole is knocked unconscious. In her confused state, fantasies flash through her mind, and she seems to become Nell Gwyn of Old Drury, with Charles King looking very much like King Charles. Recovering, she is advised by her doctor to take a rest in the country and, there,another beau, Albert Gutman, prompts his grandmother, Lady Drayton, to invite Carole to their family home at Windsor. She accepts and telephones Charles but hangs up when his phone is answered by a female voice. Looking out on Windsor Castle, she sees herself as the young Queen Victoria and Albert as Prince Albert. Influenced by her day-dream, she accepts Albert's proposal. Charles arrives to tell her that all arrangements are made for her to leave with him and the company for Burma, but she refuses saying she will never marry...

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Plot Keywords:

based on play

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Taglines:

A New Errol Flynn... with the same old MAGIC!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Comedy | Romance

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Let's Make Up

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Herbert Wilcox Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Trucolor) (Eastmancolor) Black and White (prologue)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though he is uncredited, this is Sean Connery's first film.

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Soundtracks

"Dance Little Lady"
Written by Noel Coward (as Noël Coward)

User Reviews

The Bloom Is Off These Lilacs

When the producing/acting team of Herbert Wilcox and Anna Neagle got Errol Flynn he was willing to work for just about anything in Lilacs In The Spring. He owed the US government a lot of back taxes and was abroad so he couldn't be arrested for same and his epic William Tell had gone belly up. So the Wilcoxes were able to get Flynn for a fraction of his asking price from a decade ago for this Neagle film.

In it Anna Neagle plays a musical comedy star and her own daughter, in addition to reprising two of her previous screen roles in dream sequences, Queen Victoria and Nell Gwynn. The frequent use of flashbacks and imaginary sequences is going to leave the viewer quite a bit confused.

As for Errol Flynn he's both husband and father to Anna Neagle in her two different guises. The young Anna Neagle is caught between two suitors, producer David Farrar and stagedoor johnny Peter Graves. That is not the Peter Graves of Mission Impossible.

Neagle sings beautifully of course, she was one of the United Kingdom's premier musical comedy stars as well as a film star. As for Flynn he does a nice song and dance to Lily Of Laguna, but compare it to the number he did in Thank Your Lucky Stars with Warner Brothers during World War II, That's What You Jolly Well Get. Errol's aged quite considerably and it shows.

I wish both of these stars had teamed years earlier because they're a bit long in the tooth for this material, especially Flynn.