Directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Leslie Howard, Berkeley Square is a hauntingly elegant fantasy drama that explores the emotional and philosophical consequences of time travel. Released in 1933 by Fox Film Corporation, this pre-Code film adapts the 1926 play by John L. Balderston, itself inspired by Henry James’s unfinished novel The Sense of the Past. It’s a rare blend of historical romance and speculative fiction, with a performance that earned Howard an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Plot Summary
Peter Standish (Leslie Howard), a modern American, inherits a London home once occupied by his 18th-century ancestor. Obsessed with the past, he believes he can travel back in time by following the exact steps recorded in his ancestor’s diary. Miraculously, he does—and finds himself in 1784, living among the Pettigrew family, who expect him to marry their daughter. But Peter’s modern sensibilities clash with the customs of the past, and his love for Helen Pettigrew (Heather Angel) leads to heartbreak as he realizes he cannot remain in the 18th century without disrupting history.
Cast Highlights
- Leslie Howard as Peter Standish
- Heather Angel as Helen Pettigrew
- Valerie Taylor, Irene Browne, and Beryl Mercer in supporting roles
- Irene Browne later reprised her role in the 1951 remake I’ll Never Forget You, making her the only actor to appear in both versions
Trivia & Literary Connections
- The film was a major influence on H.P. Lovecraft, who saw it four times and called it “the most weirdly perfect embodiment of my own moods and pseudo-memories”
- Lovecraft’s novella The Shadow Out of Time shares thematic DNA with Berkeley Square, particularly the idea of mind-exchange across centuries
- The original play starred Leslie Howard in both its London (1928) and Broadway (1929) productions, and he reprised the role for the film
- The film was thought lost for decades until rediscovered in the 1970s and later restored for screenings, including at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
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