Let's stroll on over to Kentucky today and see what all the fuss is about...
looks like there's a new guy in town!
"April Love"
It was the 4th most popular movie of 1957. Pat Boone stars as a potential juvenile delinquent who is sent to work on a Kentucky farm. Young Nick Conover is forced to leave Chicago after being put on probation for stealing a car. From now on, he will have to live and work on the Kentucky farm of his uncle Jed Bruce and his aunt Henrietta. In other words, there he is, forlorn, in the middle of nowhere.
All the more as his uncle, who does not seem to have overcome the death of his son Jed Jr., does not welcome him with open arms.
It goes without saying that Nick, who is not such a bad boy after all, is very upset. But luckily, there is also kind-hearted aunt Henrietta, a wonderful trotter who has gone wild and who is just asking to be tamed as well as two charming young neighbors, Fran and Liz. . Nick finds that sulky horse racing is the popular pastime in this area of the country. Although initially his preference is to race and repair hot-rod cars, he finds he has an innate connection with the only remaining horse on the farm.
A local lass (Jones) teaches him much about the sport and "April love" ensues. When he meets apple-cheeked local girl Shirley Jones, Boone decides that mending his ways might be an option. Before long, he is devoting himself to the task of training a horse to become a winning trotter. Nominated for an Academy Award, the film's title song proved to be one of Pat Boone's most durable hits. April Love benefits from its actual Lexington, Kentucky locations, lovingly photographed in CinemaScope and Deluxe Color.
One of the more memorable lines from the film is said by Nick's uncle (O'Connell) as he allows him to do a number of dangerous activities, only to respond to Nick's complaints by saying: "Showin's better than tellin'." The title song sung by Boone went to number one on the Billboard Chart in December 1957 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song..
There was something about that song and about Pat Boone too that makes it and him one of the best things about the 50's. He was part of that simpler time we all talk about. This movie and this song will bring it all back to us….
Until Next Time....... Have a wonderful April Love
