Laburnum Grove

Laburnum Grove is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Carol Reed and starring Edmund Gwenn, Cedric Hardwicke and Victoria Hopper. It was based on the 1933 play of the same name written by J. B. Priestley. Gwenn, Ethel Coleridge, Francis James, James Harcourt and David Hawthorne all repeated their roles from the play's original 1933-34 West End production, which had been directed by Hardwicke.

Plot summary

To rid himself of his sponging relatives a man tells them he is really a forger which causes them to leave. His wife believes he is joking, but he has in fact allowed the truth to slip out and now he is in danger of being arrested.

Cast

Edmund Gwenn as Mr. Radfern
Cedric Hardwicke as Mr. Baxley
Victoria Hopper as Elsie Radfern
Ethel Coleridge as Mrs. Baxley
Katie Johnson as Mrs. Radfern
Francis James as Harold Russ
James Harcourt as Joe Fletten
David Hawthorne as Inspector Stack
Frederick Burtwell as Simpson

Novelisation

In 1936, Heinemann, London issued, in hardcover, J. B. Priestley's Laburnum Grove "based on the famous stage play & film" by Ruth Holland. This book marked the second 'collaboration' between Holland and Priestley, as she had three years before novelised his play Dangerous Corner. Ms. Holland was at the time known for at least one work of popular contemporary fiction of her own, The Lost Generation, a wartime novel. She was also, by way of Priestley's second marriage, his sister-in-law.

Reception

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a good review, noting that "here at last is an English film one can unreservedly praise". Greene characterized the film as "thoroughly workmanlike and unpretentious", and praised director Reed for his difficult and successful adaptation of Priestley's original play.