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Berkeley Square (film)

Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square (1933, Lobby Card).jpg
Berkeley Square (1933, Lobby Card), Leslie Howard and Betty Lawford
Directed by Frank Lloyd
Produced by Jesse L. Lasky
Screenplay by Sonya Levien
John L. Balderston
Based on Berkeley Square
1926 play
by John L. Balderston
1917 novel
The Sense of the Past by Henry James
Starring Leslie Howard
Heather Angel
Music by Louis De Francesco
Cinematography Ernest Palmer
Edited by Harold D. Schuster
Distributed by Fox Film Corporation
Release date
  • September 13, 1933 (1933-09-13) (New York)
Running time
85 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Berkeley Square is a 1933 American Pre-Code fantasy drama film produced by Fox Film Corporation, directed by Frank Lloyd, and starring Leslie Howard and Heather Angel. It recounts the tale of young American Peter Standish, played by Howard (nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor), who is transported back to London shortly after the American Revolution, where he meets his ancestors. The film was based on the play of the same name by John L. Balderston, itself loosely based on the incomplete novel The Sense of the Past by Henry James. Howard also played Standish in the Broadway play.

The film was thought to have been lost until it was rediscovered in the 1970s. A newly restored 35mm print has been made, and the restored version was first shown at the 2011 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.

In 1784, shortly after the United States wins its independence, American Peter Standish (Leslie Howard) sails from New York to England to marry his cousin. Upon hearing of a Frenchman crossing the English Channel in a balloon, Peter regrets that he will not be able to see the marvels the future has in store.

In 1933, his descendant, also named Peter Standish (Leslie Howard again), unexpectedly inherits a house in Berkeley Square, London. He becomes increasingly obsessed with his ancestor's diary, causing his fiancée Marjorie Frant (Betty Lawford) great concern. When they have tea with the American ambassador (Samuel S. Hinds), Peter confides to the diplomat with eager anticipation his conviction that he will be transported back 149 years at 5:30 that day. Peter is convinced that all he needs to do is follow his ancestor's diary, since he already knows what happens, from reading it.


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