The House in the Square
| The House in the Square | |
|---|---|
American theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Roy Ward Baker |
| Produced by | Sol C. Siegel |
| Written by |
John L. Balderston (play) Ranald MacDougall |
| Starring |
Tyrone Power Ann Blyth |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox |
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Release date
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7 December 1951 |
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.75 million (US rentals) |
The House in the Square, also titled I'll Never Forget You (US) and Man of Two Worlds, is a 1951 fantasy film about an American atomic scientist who is transported to the 18th century, where he falls in love. It starred Tyrone Power and Ann Blyth and was an early film for director Roy Ward Baker. It was adapted from the play Berkeley Square by John L. Balderston, which was also the basis of the 1933 film Berkeley Square. Irene Browne reprised her role as Lady Anne Pettigrew from the 1933 version.
It used a similar technique to The Wizard of Oz, presenting the opening and closing sequences in black-and-white, and the rest of the film in Technicolor.
Peter Standish (Tyrone Power) is an American atomic scientist who is working in a nuclear laboratory in London. His co-worker Roger Forsyth (Michael Rennie), who is worried about Peter's lack of social activities, takes him to a house in Berkeley Square he inherited. It is there where Peter announces his wishes of living in the 18th century among the high-class family Petigrew he has studied the last years. Because of a lightning strike, he is brought back to 1784, where he is thought to be the first Peter Standish, the American cousin of the Petigrews who, according to history, will soon romance and marry Kate Petigrew (Beatrice Campbell).
Peter falls for Kate, but he is more interested in her sister Helen (Ann Blyth), of whom he has never found any records. Over the next few days, Peter makes several bad impressions on the family by using modern day language and revealing information he could not have known if he had actually grown up in the 18th century. Helen, however, is the only one not suspicious of Peter's presence and falls in love with him as well. Peter admits to her that the 18th century is not what he thought it would be. The narrow-minded people, the poverty and the dirt irritate him. Furthermore, he admits that he is from the future and shows Helen his hidden laboratory in the basement with modern inventions.
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Wikipedia