The music score was by Arthur Benjamin, the cinematography by Georges Périnal, the editing by Oswald Hafenrichter and the costume design by Cecil Beaton.

[5] The film stars Paulette Goddard, Michael Wilding, Diana Wynyard, Hugh Williams, C. Aubrey Smith, Glynis Johns and Constance Collier.

The main characters are Mrs. Laura Cheveley, who has recently returned to Britain after living in Vienna; Sir Robert Chiltern, a government minister with a reputation for honesty; his wife Gertrude, who disapproves strongly of immorality and dishonesty; Mabel Chiltern, Sir Robert's younger sister; Arthur, Viscount Goring, an unmarried and unconventional young man; and his father, the Earl of Caversham, who is eager to have his son marry and settle down.

At a lavish party hosted by the Chilterns, Mrs. Cheveley tries to extort Sir Robert into supporting a bill to provide government financing for what he considers to be a fraudulent scheme.

Mrs. Cheveley has incriminating letters that he wrote many years earlier that allowed him to use advance knowledge of the financing of the Suez Canal to establish his fortune and career.

Before leaving the party, Mrs. Cheveley tells Lady Chiltern, a former schoolmate, that her husband will support the canal scheme, which surprises the politician's wife.

The next morning, Sir Robert reveals Mrs. Cheveley's blackmail attempt to Arthur, who urges him to let his wife know about his own past indiscretion, even if it will ruin her regard for her husband.

Lady Chiltern tells the woman that she has despised her dishonesty ever since they were at school together and that Sir Robert will speak against the bill in Parliament that night.

[2][6] Korda was also criticised for halting shooting to procure a genuine emerald necklace for Goddard to wear in one scene, a controversial extravagance during Britain's post-war austerity period.

[12] According to Kinematograph Weekly, the most successful at the box office in 1948 Britain was The Best Years of Our Lives, with Spring in Park Lane being the best British film and next best being It Always Rains on Sunday, My Brother Jonathan, Road to Rio, Miranda, An Ideal Husband, Naked City, The Red Shoes, Green Dolphin Street, Forever Amber, Life with Father, The Weaker Sex, Oliver Twist, The Fallen Idol and The Winslow Boy.