Pat Boone and Shirley Jones Find April Love

Pat Boone.

Pat Boone as a bad boy? Well, he doesn't really play a bad boy in April Love (1957), but his character Nick is sentenced to probation after being arrested for joyriding in Chicago. To keep him out of trouble, his mother sends Nick to his uncle's rural Kentucky farm. Aunt Henrietta welcomes him, but Uncle Jed (Arthur O'Connell) isn't so sure about the big city troublemaker. Nick feels like a fish out of water until he meets a pretty neighbor named Liz (Shirley Jones) and gets involved with harness racing.

This remake of Home in Indiana (1944) was clearly designed to showcase Pat Boone, who was already a popular singer. His recording of "April Love" would turn out to be one of his biggest hits. The song also earned its writers, Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, an Oscar nomination for Best Song (it lost to "All the Way" from The Joker Is Wild). Boone's co-star Shirley Jones, despite starring in the earlier Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956), doesn't even get a solo number (though she does sing a reprise of "Give Me a Gentle Girl"). 

Shirley Jones.

As light musicals go, April Love is pleasant, but never compelling. I was hoping that Liz's sister (played by Dolores Michaels) might take a serious interest in Nick, setting up a juicy triangle. But, after some innocent flirting, she makes it clear she's not interested in the boy from Chicago. After that, the viewer just has to wait for Nick to realize that Liz is played by the awesome Shirley Jones and he'd better make a commitment before some other guy comes along.

Incidentally, you may wonder if--after watching April Love--you somehow missed Nick kissing Liz at least once. No, you did not miss it! It never happens--though Nick almost kisses her before the couple is interrupted. You can read why that kiss never took place in this article from TCM.

Pat Boone experienced greater success on the silver screen than many of his singing peers (e.g., Connie Francis). He followed up April Love with a supporting role in the enjoyable Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), a starring role opposite Ann-Margret in State Fair (1962), the Debbie Reynolds comedy Goodbye Charlie (1964), and the fact-based drama The Cross and the Switchblade (1970). By the early 1970s, Boone's acting career consisted almost entirely of TV appearances.