Evergreen (1934)

★★★★★ · A superior British musical. · nenslo · 2011-10-22

Musical films were never produced in Britain in anything like the quantity or quality that they were in the U.S. and the best, like Arthur Askey's Miss London Ltd., also available from this archive, are often done in the American style. Evergreen seemed to me to be a distinctly British film, with many excellently produced musical numbers. The romance between a young man and a woman posing as his mother adds a rather unsettling touch, but it is extremely entertaining and well produced. Of especial note is the Ballet Mecanique sequence in mindboggling robotic Deco style. Definitely worth…

★★★★ · Musical Nostalgia · I_loved_this movie! · 2011-10-22

Nostalgia seems to be the real plot of this story, as it shows the changing styles of fashion and music over the course of 30 years. A musical performer in 1934 passes herself off as her amazingly ageless mother, a turn-of-the-century singer. The acting is good, the dancing and music are entertaining. Makes you think about all the changes that took place in those 30 years, and how similar our own time is in some ways to 1934: modern technological marvels flourishing in a socially (and artistically) depressing time. Only so much more so today.