Le armi del re

I was too young to be an Anna Neagle fan, but after seeing her in ' Lilacs in the Spring ' I can well understand that she had a number one following in the UK for many decades. She danced superbly, and her flirtatious charm showed how elegant and sophisticated she was on stage and screen. Her films are rarely shown, and despite her reputation she has fallen into that eclipse called time. We live in another world now, far away from her death in 1986. As for this film, found second hand on DVD I will treasure it if alone for the ' Lilacs in the Spring ' song by the great Ivor Novello at the end, where she is dancing and singing to troops in Burma towards the end of World War 2. Herbert Wilcox, her husband directed and he was not the best of directors, and sadly she worked with almost only him on film. And yet her presence surmounts any doubts about her own greatness. Now the plot. Suffering from concussion after a Blitz attack she dreams of other times, and again takes on her former roles as Queen Victoria and Nell Gwynne. Her mother another actor is played by herself and a feat in itself. She is loved by an actor played by Erroll Flynn. The chemistry between them works well, and I gladly give this film a 9. A past age, and one we risk forgetting. If the plot seems complicated it isn't. I recommend a UK television showing of many of her films.