StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

wes-connors "Yesterday," to avoid scandal involving her illegitimate baby girl, music hall performer Jessie Matthews (as Harriet Green) retires from the stage. "To-Day" her adult daughter, Ms. Matthews (as Harriet Hawkes), is back in London, auditioning as a chorus girl. She meets young show business hopeful Barry Mackay (as Tommy Thompson), who promotes Ms. Matthews as the return of her eternally youthful mother. The British public is delighted with the comeback, but 60-year-old "mother" Matthews falls in love with "son" Mackay and their ruse is threatened by paramours from Mathews' past. Helping out are real-life husband Sonnie Hale (as Leslie Benn), veteran British favorite Betty Balfour (as Maudie), and director Victor Saville.****** Evergreen (4/34) Victor Saville ~ Jessie Matthews, Barry Mackay, Sonnie Hale, Betty Balfour

Neil Doyle The trouble with EVERGREEN is that it lacks the pizazz of even the most average Hollywood musical and only comes to life during two of its biggest production numbers--which occur when the film is almost over. As introduced by Robert Osborne, apparently the star, JESSIE MATTHEWS, was seen as a threat to Ginger Rogers at the time, although their dancing styles were never in any way similar. Matthews concentrates on flowing movements and high kicking routines that resemble those that Charlotte Greenwood is famous for. In no way does she suggest anything approaching the tap dancing and ballroom dancing of Rogers.The songs may have been penned by none other than Richard Rodgers, but they're entirely unmemorable and cliché-ridden with titles like "Springtime in My Heart" warbled in shrill soprano style by Matthews. Only three songs from the original British musical survived and none of them registers as strong enough to make it to a stage musical. A number of routines are done by clunky, overweight chorus girls in unflattering costumes. The entire impersonation angle seems to strain credibility at every turn.Sorry for the negative comments, but compared to the glossier MGM products of the day (namely, DANCING LADY with Joan Crawford and Clark Gable), EVERGREEN fails to reach that level of professionalism. The film does come alive toward the finale with two big production numbers, but by that time the silly plot contrivance of a girl posing as her own mother from a previous time--and in love with a man who must pretend to be her son--has worn its welcome.Another example of a British musical vs. the Hollywood style, where Hollywood wins.

rhoda-1 Though sumptuous and sophisticated for an English musical of the period (or, let's face it, any period), Evergreen lacks the pizazz and production values of even an average Hollywood product of the Thirties. But what it does have is Jessie Matthews and the charm and sweetness that she had to a degree that elevated these qualities to sensual enchantment. Watch her in the "Dancing on the Ceiling" number, in which she dances up a spiral staircase, into her bedroom, and into bed, and you could swear she decides to hover in the air over the bed for a second, playfully kicking her heels. In "I Wouldn't Leave My Little Wooden Hut for You," which she performs dancing down the length of a dinner table with another actress, in the costumes of the 1890s, can reduce you to tears. The plot has her being given a gala farewell as she is about to leave England, and the feeling of the whole song is of a laughing farewell to an era of innocence.There was no one in films who moved like Jessie Matthews, unless you count the very, very different Louise Brooks (also a dancer). They moved with a liquid grace that, while full of natural sensuality, was never vulgar or openly sexy, any more than the movements of a beautiful feline. In the final number, "Over My Shoulder," however, she does a strip tease to make it plain that she is not a wonderfully preserved old lady but a young and vital one. It's breathtakingly sexy, but not because Matthews behaves, like later actresses, in a manner deliberately meant to be arousing--rather, because she is just so full of the joy of life.

jmitchel-2 "Evergreen" was an original Rodgers and Hart creation, both in story and music, successfully produced on stage in 1930 in Glasgow and London by British impresario, C. B. Cochran. Gaumont British Picture loosely adapted the show into a Hollywood style musical in this 1934 version. Three Rodgers and Hart songs were retained, most notably, "Dancing on the Ceiling." In addition, three songs by the American composer, Harry Woods were interpolated, including the movie's main theme, "When You've Got a Little Springtime in Your Heart."Fortunately, for lovers of 1930's musicals, Evergreen's breezy plot, lilting music, and stylish dancing routines all come together to highlight the talents and beauty of British musical queen, Jessie Matthews. The willowy, long-legged Mathews is a singing and dancing revelation, as charming and lovable a musical comedy heroine as ever seen on either side of the Atlantic.This movie is a joy in every way. As refrained by composer Woods: "And each happy scene will be Evergreen as the sweetest morning in June, when you've got a little springtime in your heart."