The Captain's Paradise (1953) User Reviews

A element of paradise not to be overlooked

[holy1 · 8/10 · 19 January 2007]

News today of the recent death of Yvonnne De Carlo brings this movie back into my mind. I saw it during a period of my life when I had for several years had few opportunities to go to the movies. I had been a student priest in Rome and movie houses were off limits for us. Away on summer holidays in 1953, I caught up with the movie at a cinema in Vienna that was showing English language movies for the benefit of the English military personnel, part of the post World War II occupation force in the Austrian capital. I was allowed to sneak in.

But quite apart from the fact that it was a welcome interlude in a period of drought in my movie watching life, the movie remains in my memory as one of the cleverest comedies I have seen. Not side splitting, it is true. But excellent English wit. And the final scene is unforgettable.

The movies is entitled "The captain's paradise" Reading the IMDb user's comments, I see they correctly note two reasons why the ship captain's life style was a paradise. His homely English wife in Gibraltar and his party going Spanish wife in North Africa. But there was a third element that none of them seem to note as a factor in the captain's happy situation. At sea, at meal times women are rigidly excluded from the captain's table. Those seated with the captain are diplomats, explorers, scientists and suchlike. All of them males. The third paradise element in the captain's life is the enjoyment of male company and conversation at meals. This link with the film's title needs to be remembered. No wonder the script received an Oscar nomination.

There is one aspect of the movie on which I would like another viewer to enlighten me. How did Yvonne De Carlo come to be in this very English movie ? Today after hearing word of her death I looked in IMDb at her listed appearances. From being Moses' wife in Ten Commandments to being the mother in The Munsters, pretty well every role seems to be in a United States production. How did she find her place in a Ealing comedy? But at least it was a most welcome appearance and I am glad she hopped the Atlantic for this one.

A delight in 1953 & still a delight in 2006

[jaybob · 8/10 · 20 December 2006]

The Captains Paradise is a charming delightful comedy.

Alec Guiness is wonderful as always, this time as a ferry-boat Captain, ferrying between Gibralter & Morrocco,(Kalik in film). he happens to have a wife in Gibralter (Celia Johnson) & a lover in Morrocco (Yvonne deCarlo). Censors at the time did not allow him to have 2 wives at same time. It would be a spoiler to tell you more. This was filmed on location (filming on actual sites was still somewhat of a rarity in 1953. Gibralter & Tangier were very picturesque & it did add to the enjoyment.

The running time is only 86 minutes which is perfect timing for this type comedy. If this was made today, they would drag it out to near the 2 hour mark.

Rating *** (out of 4) points 88 (out of 100) IMDb 8 (out of 10)

A true comic delight....

[rupie · 8/10 · 22 July 1999]

It is difficult to choose among the many comic films put out by the Ealing Studios in the 50's & 60's, but The Captain's Paradise ranks right up there. Alec Guinness is at the top of his comic form as the smug Captain Saint James, whose deviously constructed 'paradise' comes crashing down around him. The story, like all the best comedies, is really a morality tale, with the captain getting his comeuppance, but, in the end, still foxily escaping final judgement. A sparklingly witty script and fine ensemble acting make this one a must-see for devotees of British comedy. I never tire of watching this one.

Delightfully sly British comedy

[otter · 3 March 1999]

Ship's captain Alec Guinness seems to have a dull life, he's had the same job for years, taking his ship back and forth between Gibraltar and Morocco. Little does anyone know, that the Captain has worked out his idea of a paradise, he has a wife at either end of the line! In British Gibraltar Cecia Johnson gives him all the comforts of domesticity and respectability, and in Morocco sexy Yvonne DeCarlo gives him... you know. Of course, such a life is doomed to complications, and thereby hangs the plot of the film.

A subtly wicked comedy, a lesser "Kind Hearts and Coronets".

Never really belly-laugh funny, but highly witty and great fun. And I love the ending, it's perfect.

Lucille Toody's Favorite Movie

[theowinthrop · 6/10 · 27 February 2005]

I enjoyed this comedy, which demonstrates that one can't have one's cake and eat it too. Alec Guiness has found that he has a perfect recipe for happiness by being a bigamist. He has one wife in Gibraltar (Celia Johnson) and one in Ceuta (Yvonne De Carlo). As his business is running a ferry service between the two cities he has reason to be gone at least a night or two from either wife. He chooses Celia to mirror the perfect domestic spouse, and Yvonne for the perfect excitement spouse. But in truth both women are increasingly unhappy by the uneven state of their marriages. Johnson wants to go out with her husband to night spots, and De Carlo wants to cook him a dinner, and maybe play some bridge or charades with him. Instead of willingly switching the formula, Guiness foolishly prevents both women from getting their desire, and looses them both. Ironically they never discover he committed bigamy.

It is not as good as "The Lavender Hill Mob", or "The Ladykillers", or "The Man in the White Suit" or "The Horse's Mouth", but it is as good as "The Card". Although admittedly second tier Guiness it is popular. It is also the only film of Guiness's to be mentioned in the television series "Car 54 Where Are You?". Lucille Toody thought it was so romantic. Imagine Gunther with two wives in the Bronx and Queens?

Alec Guinness Does the Bolero!

[PolitiCom · 7/10 · 14 May 2002]

One of the more modest comic efforts done during his Ealing Studios period, it features a side of Guinness that his fans have never seen. Dancing the bolero with Yvonne DeCarlo in a North African nightclub, he displays such amazing footwork that it's hard to believe that he didn't have a stunt double. He didn't. This film is a small delight for true Guinness aficianados and well worth the price of a video rental

Too Much Marriage

[smithy-8 · 10/10 · 29 October 2003]

Alec Guinness made a few silly comedies and "The Captain's Paradise" is the best. Mr. Guinness portrays an international naval captain who is married to two different women at the same time: Celia Johnson as your average housewife and Yvonne De Carlo as your average sexpot. The captain believes he has the perfect life with each wife until he finds out that he doesn't.

It is an adorable movie. Very funny! It read Mr. Guinness enjoyed working with Ms. De Carlo, whom he respected. She taught him to tango for their dancing scenes. This is Ms. De Carlo's best role. Also, this movie gives Ms. Johnson a chance to be funny. She usually is sad in her early movies.

The Ealing That Wasn't

[slokes · 7/10 · 22 September 2012]

Everything about this delightful comedy starring Alec Guinness cries out "Ealing Studios" – that factory for genial humor of a more innocent (but still wide awake) time. So it's not a surprise many commenters here mistake "The Captain's Paradise" as an Ealing production.

It isn't, but it's about as close to Ealing in spirit as you can get: Enchanting black-and-white photography that doesn't call attention to itself, fun-making at social strictures, a lead performance by Guinness that alternates between tragic and goofy, and a short running time. It's a lot better than some Ealings I've seen, if not as great as those two studio pillars, "The Ladykillers" and "Kind Hearts And Coronets."

Guinness's character in this film is a ferryboat captain who transports people and cargo from the British island colony of Gibraltar to the coastal enclave of Kalik, where steamy nights and ersatz Spanish are the rule. The captain's life is much enhanced by the fact he has a lady at each port, one a prim British wife (Celia Johnson) who knows him as Capt. Henry St. James; the other a fiery Latin flamenco dancer (Yvonne De Carlo) who knows him as "Jimmy."

"Two women, each with half the qualities necessary for a man, and therefore quite easy to find," is how he explains his approach to the only man who knows his secret, his ship's first mate Ricco (Charles Goldner). "And once found, never to meet!" But can the captain keep these women from meeting each other? What do you think!

Guinness is front and center throughout the film, delivering a cerebral, understated profile in smugitude that begins with his eyes. Alternately heavy-lidded in repose or wide and blazing when upset, his eye reactions cue much of the laughter in this somewhat sedate comedy. It's a wonderfully efficient performance, centered by a scene where he hoofs a mean two-step with De Carlo, cigarette dangling lazy from his lips.

"He who enters paradise must have a golden key," the captain says before another rendezvous with his dancing lover. That's about as blue as this film gets, though De Carlo flashes some legs and Johnson, well, let's just say she's not as proper as we are led to think.

People who criticize "The Captain's Paradise" as sexist or celebrating adultery miss the point. As an Ealing... well, almost an Ealing comedy, "Paradise" plays with stereotypes as a form of satire. That the captain thinks he has a great thing going is part of the humor. So is the fact he doesn't seem able to listen or process it when his women tell him otherwise. The tone set by director Anthony Kimmins is so merry it can be mistaken for approval, but this ignores the delicious resolution of the captain's two loves.

The script by Alec Coppel and Nicholas Phipps sets up the captain's fragile situation. Prim Maud craves a bikini but settles for a vacuum. For them, it's hot cocoa and "beddy-byes" at 10. With fiery Nita, it's champagne and dancing all night at a place that looks like Rick's All- American Café, Guinness with a rose in his teeth. Anyone can see this is not a sustainable situation, and nearly any man can't gainsay his trying anyway.

I think the film suffers from some minor flaws that show up more with repeat viewings. It does move slowly, taking up about thirty minutes to set up the premise everyone will know going in. There are a couple of bookend shots featuring Ricco explaining the situation to a stranger that offer just dead air. The actual ending of the film is facile rather than clever, though not unpleasant.

People also complain that "Paradise" has a bit of a body count, and fails as comedy for that. But "Ladykillers" and "Coronets" had even higher body counts, which didn't stop them from being great. "Captain's Paradise" falls a wee bit short of greatness, but it's quite satisfying in the whole of its various parts, especially for those who like their Guinness with a little spice.

A piece of paradise

[LDRose · 9/10 · 2 April 2005]

This film is a treat! It is the tale of an English sea Captain (Alec Guiness) who thinks he has devised the perfect arrangement for paradise. He has a wife in two ports - each one half his idea of the perfect woman. His English wife (Celia Johnson) is the dutiful, domestic wife, whilst his Latin wife (Yvonne De Carlo) provides the excitement which he craves. All three play their roles well - Alec Guinness is a delight to watch, making you root for him and at times losing sympathy for him. The two wives appear to be stereotypical characters - but neither is quite as they seem! The script is witty and perceptive and the plot always engaging. I can recommend setting sail for the Captain's Paradise!

delightful

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 24 October 2010]

Alec Guinness lives "The Captain's Paradise" in this 1953 Ealing light comedy. Guinness plays the captain of a ferry going from the British colony of Gibraltor to Spanish Morocco, who, according to his chief officer Ricco (Charles Goldner), has found the recipe for true happiness. He is, so sayeth the officer, a genius.

His recipe is a simple one, and as we have learned recently, with the news of Charles Lindbergh having another family in Germany, and the book "Pilot" - it's more common that we knew. The captain, Henry St. James, has a wife in each port. Celia Johnson is his British wife, a homemaker and excellent cook. The two lead an orderly life - in bed by 10, and when he comes home, he brings her a gift for the household. His Moroccan wife, who calls him "Jimmy," is Yvonne DeCarlo. She's sexy, a dancer who loves the nightlife. The two drink champagne, take moonlight swims, and go dancing.

Of course, as time goes on, problems ensue. For one thing, the women become bored with their roles.

A very funny film, with an interesting message about roles and how, as people grow older, they want to take on different ones.

Guinness is excellent as the happy and then frustrated man in their lives. The best scene, though, is Celia Johnson dancing with her cousin Bob (Walter Crisham) - hilarious.

Highly recommended

A novel comic concept for its time...today, the charming performances will have to suffice

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 25 April 2009]

Alec Coppel received an Oscar nomination for his original story (thin as it is) regarding a married steamship Captain in Gibraltar--intelligent, multi-lingual, work-oriented, and seemingly stuffy or conservative--who keeps a mistress in Algiers, a red-hot mama who can't cook but dances until dawn! Resting on Alec Guinness' easy lead performance, the film begins very well and has several comic highlights, one of which is Guinness hitting the dance floor with fiery Yvonne De Carlo. But when the Captain's cooped-up wifey decides she wants more excitement in her life--and the mistress expresses a sudden desire for a life of domesticity--the picture hasn't any place left to go. Framed in flashback for expository purposes, Coppel's script with Nicholas Phipps has a handful of amusing ideas, the rest being rather obvious and silly (though perhaps not in 1953). Guinness, looking snappy and comically striking, nearly keeps the picture afloat with his panache. ** from ****

Simply good clean fun

[m_fehle · 9/10 · 18 April 2006]

Alec Guinness plays a man who believes he has found the secret to happiness - a wife in every port, who each fulfill different needs: the red-blooded good-time girl in North Africa, and the homely matron in Gib. Needless to say, the unraveling starts in the 2nd reel and by the 3rd the cat is well and truly among the pigeons. The twist at the end is breathtaking, and you walk away wishing that you too could pull this off. Typical British fare of the era, no sex, no profanity, just plenty of Alec Guinness Being Alec Guinness - lighthearted fluff, lots of fun. To the person who says they're speaking the "wrong" language - Gibraltar is attached to Spain, and there's quite a bit of it spoken there. What they're speaking in Cali isn't Spanish, but some wonderful melange of Spanish, cod-Arabic, and something else. The implication is that Cali is a Spanish enclave, halfway between Spain (civilised, European), and The Dark Continent (wild, lawless, full of forbidden promise).

To serve different parts of his nature.

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 11 December 2013]

In The Captain's Paradise Alec Guinness is in the title role and this is a man who thinks he has it made. He pilots a ferryboat from British Gibraltar to the City of Tangiers on the African coast. And he's got a wife on both sides to satisfy all his needs. Of course the women don't know about each other.

In Gibraltar is proper wife and mother to two children Celia Johnson. She is for the man who likes to come home to a prepared meal, pipe and slippers, and a good book. But over in Tangiers is the sensuous and sexual part of his nature is Yvonne DeCarlo. With her Guinness wants to go out clubbing and one of the highlights of the film is him doing one wild mambo with DeCarlo.

I have to say that Guinness's Henry St. James is one of the most chauvinistic characters I've ever seen portrayed on screen. Obviously no one woman will do for him, so he makes sure he gets all bases covered. If neither met a certain need I'll bet he'd have found a third or a fourth somewhere although that juggling act would have been something to see. These women truly exist to serve him and he never takes into account their needs or that people change over time. That proves to be his undoing.

The Captain's Paradise got an Oscar nomination for Original Story and it is a pretty neat story. Guinness, Johnson, and DeCarlo give superb performances and so does Charles Goldner who plays his first mate on his ferryboat and learns his secret, but keeps it as he admires Guinness's romantic adroitness.

A great one for Alec Guinness fans.

I'm not laughing

[robslady · 4/10 · 8 July 2010]

*** This review contains significant spoilers ***

This movie was supposed to be funny and we were supposed to enjoy the adventures of Captain St. James, the man who "makes everyone happy." I just couldn't help feeling very annoyed at the bigamous captain and sorry for his unsuspecting wives. The truth was, the only one he was making happy was himself, and he expected his wives to remain exactly the same, with no room for growth or change on their part. I found this infuriating.

Was I taking it too seriously? I'm sure I was! But I couldn't help it, I found myself just waiting for the guy's comeuppance. I loved it when the women told them just how unhappy they actually were, but shortly thereafter, one of the wives is murdered -- even this is played for laughs, as our hero uses the confusion surrounding the murder to sneak away.

I guess I just don't find bigamy and murder funny. Even less funny is premeditated murder for hire. While I fully expected that the Captain was not actually executed, I found it horrible that the firing squad, instead of firing into the air or at the wall, killed their commander. This isn't emphasized in the film, but the Captain has to step over the commander's body in order to pay off the firing squad. So, having committed one more hideously irresponsible act, our hero goes smirking into the sunset in order to continue deceiving and bribing his way through life.

Not my cup of tea.

Another Alec Guinness triumph

[mt-kailash-1 · 20 January 2004]

Amusing film with excellent cast and a rather 'modern' comedy situation of a bigamous sea captain who keeps a wife in each port-racy stuff for 1953.Those puzzled by the Moroccan Spanish-speaking wife should note that the nearest Moroccan port to Gibraltar is Ceuta-which is actually a Spanish territory.

Lacking Laughs

[kenjha · 7/10 · 2 June 2009]

A sea captain conveniently keeps a wife at each of the two ports he shuttles between routinely. As in so many comedies of this period, Guinness is marvelous as the bigamist who concocts the perfect wife out of the two women - plain Johnson (in a rare comedic role) as the demure, devoted British woman and beautiful De Carlo (incredibly hot) as the voluptuous Latina. Of course the two women have a chance encounter, leading to the funniest scenes of the film. Alas, the laughs are few and far between. It's surprising that this film received an Oscar nomination for its writing because it fails to mine the amusing premise for its comedic potential.

Lightweight fun

[jamesrupert2014 · 7/10 · 29 October 2021]

Henry St. James (Alec Guinness), captain of the Gibraltar: Kalique ferry discovers that the secret to happiness is the love of two disparate women - one a staid housekeeper (Celia Johnson) and the other tempestuous lover (Yvonne De Carlo, of Lily Munster fame). Needless to say, a fall from paradise is in order as the two women begin to resent the roles to which he expects them to conform. Framed by St. James facing a firing squad somewhere in Africa, the flashback narrative eventually explains the mysterious prologue and sets up the final scene. The film is moderately funny in a dated way, the cast, especially Guinness, is very good, and the story better (and less predictable) that I expected given the high-concept premise and the typical trajectory romantic-farces like this tend to follow. Not one of Sir Alec's best comedies but still an enjoyable throwback.

Hubris Catches Up.

[Richard_vmt · 10/10 · 20 February 2008]

This is definitely my favorite British Comedy of the Fifties and like a good comfort food I never get tired of it.

The Captain has contrived the perfect life with two wives, the one domestic, the other a night club dancer. One is in Gibraltar,

the other a Morroccan port. A good part of the humor derives from the attitude of Rico, his first mate, who invests the Captain's experiment in bigamy with religious import. He pronounces the Captain "a genius" at least a dozen times in the film. For Rico, a Latin sadly resigned to the strictures of matrimony, Captain St. James is nothing less than a savior. On a broader level, much of the humor is aimed at the culture and mispronunciation of wogs in general, whether Rico, Nita, her other 'laver,' or any of the other Kalikan characters. Although the British Gibraltar people are also lampooned, though Majors & Marjories.

But what gives the plot a note of divine justice is that the captain's downfall derives from the limitations of his grand conception itself. The human nature of each of his wives strains against the unnatural division of labor which he has crafted for the sake of his convenience. Thus Nita begins to cleave towards domesticity, while Maud yearns for the spice of life. And thus when Maud leaves him as a bore, she perfectly innocently assumes that the substitution of a matron to serve his rissoles will be fully to his satisfaction. He has no one to blame but himself.

Interestingly, while his conventional life with Maud simply comes to a dead end, it is his bohemian life with Nita that leads onward and upward into the next life chapter.

Very cute double life comedy

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 30 October 2020]

If you only think of Alec Guinness as a stiff upper lip Englishman, you've got to rent the adorable The Captain's Paradise. He starts the movie as you think of him, as a respectable, strict, no-nonsense sea captain, but as soon as the ship docks, he comes home to Yvonne de Carlo and lets his hair down. He's affectionate, carefree, dances the flamenco, and slaps her bottom.

Is this the typical Alec Guinness movie? Perhaps more than you think, since his happy vignette with Yvonne isn't the end of the movie. The next time the ship docks (in another port) he goes home to Celia Johnson and transforms himself into a respectable English husband. Instead of nightclubbing, he enjoys a homecooked meal and a present of new socks. Alec seemed to get typecast as a man in disguise, didn't he? Even though he dons no physical disguise in this comedy, he still transforms his inner character and leads a double life.

I've been known to compare Alec Guinness and David Niven, and while their roles weren't always interchangeable, this light flick could have easily starred The Niv. Though it's fun to see Alec romancing two women, dancing in a nightclub, and having fun. And it's very funny and true to life when Yvonne and Celia start to become dissatisfied with the roles Alec has laid out for them. Yvonne wants to play housewife, and Celia longs to have a wild evening! Check out The Captain's Paradise if you just watched a heavy drama and need some cheering up.

such fun!!

[film_ophile · 8/10 · 26 January 2005]

i just got this through my local library as part of a goal to see much more of alec guinness's work. it was much better than even i had hoped. the writing is excellent and has caused me to seek out more films by the screenwriter, alec coppel. the film begins with a rich premise: a cruise ship's captain has worked out for himself a paradisical life by keeping two wives, one in gibraltar and one across the bay(?) in ceuta. guinness has determined that 'it's impossible to find a perfect woman' so he has chosen these two wives,each of whom embodies 'half of a perfect woman'. the British wife is dull and dutiful, cooking and keeping house, and when he's with her he leads a quiet boring life and goes to bed each night at 10pm. but when he's with his Latin-looking sexy dancer-wife, he keeps a totally opposite lifestyle- eating out with his wife every night, drinking , dancing, and cavorting in midnight swims... what a hoot! but eventually ' he gets a little sloppy' and a demise is in the works.... the plot's turn is very surprising(given the era) and satisfying. an 8 for me.

Good for a while

[elision10 · 6/10 · 30 January 2021]

For about an hour it's a perfectly acceptable, if a little weak, little comedy for those who love Guinness and British film of the period. Then in the last third it goes progressively off the rails, culminating in a stupid ending. When you've heard about, seen, and loved other Ealing comedies but not this one, well, there's a reason. Big surprise for those of us who only know Yvonne De Carlo from The Munsters. She was a knockout.

Second Rate Guiness

[Reb9 · 5/10 · 29 October 2010]

For some reason I had never gotten around to seeing this film. Unusual for me since I have been a Guiness fan for many years. Now I find that I am rather sorry I bothered. It fails completely as comedy and can only have been reviewed favorably at the time of it's release due to the performances -- all good in a poor cause! The problem begins with a screen play that is strained at every turn. The major flaw is that the Guiness character is a totally unlikable sort. A selfish, petty little man who uses people with little care for them. Not even the great Alec Guiness can manage to make this fellow one that we give two hoots in hell about. The film suffers further from one of the very worst musical scores I have ever heard. It is loud, frantic, intrusive, and very ugly. In the final analysis this is one of the most tedious films I have ever sat through (and I love movies and have seen many in my seventy plus years). I note that a number of those commenting have attributed this film to Ealing Studios. It isn't. It was produced by London Productions (see the details on the main page for this film). For those of you who are fans of Sir Alec Guiness's work and who have not seen this film, my advice is to skip it. Watching it will simply disappoint you.

You are a genius, Captain.

[brogmiller · 9/10 · 4 April 2020]

This comedic gem is from a director with whose work I confess to be unfamiliar. Anthony Kimmins has here the services of a superlative cast headed by the immaculate Alec Guinness. He plays a ships captain who has managed for years to juggle a lovely wife in Gibraltar and a tantalising mistress in North Africa. However nothing lasts forever.... The real revelation is the relationship between the Captain and Nita played by Yvonne de Carlo. By all accounts Guinness expressed trepidation at working with Miss de Carlo but in the event they hit it off from the outset and the 'chemistry' is palpable. Excellent screenplay by Alec Coppel and Nicholas Phipps, the latter of whom turns up in his customary military role. Charles Goldner is splendid as First Officer and Celia Johnson shines as the wife who exhibits 'hidden depths'. Great score by Malcolm Arnold. This is a subtle, gentle and yes, a 'very English' comedy which cannot fail to both delight and distract. Timeless.

Two wives of different temperaments may be paradise at first but is hell to keep it all up.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 24 August 2013]

You'd think this British captain was Zorba the Greek by the life he tries to lead, leading on two wives (one actually common-law) of different natures and watching it all crash together when the two somehow meet. The captain is that master of different faces, Sir Alec Guennis, and once again, he proves himself massively versatile in the art of comedy and sly wit. The women are temperamental Yvonne de Carlo who would have to go to the library to get a recipe for ice cubes and happy homemaker Celia Johnson who couldn't dance a jig to save her life while looking for a lady's restroom. From the moment you meet de Carlo, you know his goose will be cooked if all ends up being revealed, and with Johnson, he's sure to get fat from all her good food and have to dance it all off when he returns to Yvonne. It's too much of a good thing, so he balances it out by going from one wife to another as his exhaustion or waste line expands depending what port of call he's venturing from.

Guennis can be funny just moving his eyes around or giving a double-take. When he discovers the two women together, hiding in horror outside the shop they are in, he doesn't even need to speak in order to give one of the funniest performances of his career. Guennis also shows a heart by expressing slight guilt for his deception when he confides his plight to one of his co-workers and ultimately, he too is playing two different characters, becoming more befuddled after their meeting when the two seem to switch personalities. I dare you not to want to watch every single film of Guennis's available out there and like me, begin to consider him the greatest actor who ever lived. You may also end up considering him certainly one of the coolest men who ever walked the earth with the knowing smile he carries from film to film without ever missing a beat of making each performance different than the last.

Weak Script Sinks Golden Fleece

[rmax304823 · 3/10 · 13 October 2007]

This really should have been better. In 1953 British studios were pounding out comic hits one after another, but, alas, this wasn't one of them. I saw it years ago and remember being vaguely disappointed. Seeing it again hasn't changed my opinion.

There's nothing wrong with the acting, except perhaps that Yvonne DeCarlo (nee Peggy Middleton of Vancouver) isn't very convincing as a hot blooded Latina, especially when she speaks Spanish. The direction isn't bad either. The problem lies with the script. It's just not funny enough.

The captain, Alec Guiness, of a ferry that crosses the Straits of Gibralter regularly, from British Gibralter to fictional Kalika, has a wife on each end of the run, ignorant of one another's existence. The wife in Kalika, DeCarlo, loves to stay up all night, dance, and presumably do other wicked things. The British wife in Gibralter (Cecilia Johnson) is straight laced, domestic, content, and the couple retire at 10 o'clock every night.

Some gags, not especially amusing, are worked in around getting presents for each of the wives mixed up. The big surprise is that DeCarlo really wants to settle down with a family on a less tempestuous schedule, while the rather boring Johnson reveals a wild side to her nature. Both run off with other men.

The authorities at Kalika blame Guiness when DeCarlo is shot by her boyfriend. They go through the ritual of an execution by firing squad, except that the shooters plug the officer in charge of the execution, not Guiness. Guiness pays them off with lots of money, thanks them, and goes on his way.

The end.

What it reminded me of, more than anything else, were the cheap black-and-white domestic comedies that Hollywood was producing at the time, most of them now deservedly forgotten. The Dagwood and Bondie series. "The Life of Riley." "Bed Time for Bonzo." Hordes of other pre-television examples whose titles I don't want to bother looking up.

If you don't expect too much, you won't be disappointed, but God forbid you should compare this to the Ealing comedies of the period, like "The Ladykillers."