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 ****

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Never hilarious but amusing, light and entertaining throughout

[bob the moo · 13 February 2005]

When Captain Henry James is executed by firing squad, flags all over the region are lowered to half-mast in sorrow. On the day of his execution an old companion comes to look him up but too late to see him before the deed is done. Sitting with James' Chief Officer, the man listens to the story behind his execution and hears a tale of an international ferry, a Mrs James in Algeria, a Mrs James in Gibraltar and a man with very different lives depending on his longitude and latitude.

With a simple premise this Ealing-style comedy was never going to be a surprise but when it starts with the main character being executed then it at least offers the audience something they didn't expect and it made it more interesting than another version that I had seen involving Jerry Lewis and airhostesses on different flight paths (forget the name). What is amusing about the subject (James has two wives – one domestic the other a party girl) is that it is still relevant today because men (us) still want a woman to be everything we want (as Ludicrous rhymed recently, "a lady in the street but a freak in the bed") and it is this duality that the film establishes in the two ports to good effect. The plot sets up this "perfect" life and then, predictably, picks it away, crossing the two women well and seeing James frustrated as his perfect set ups start to merge. It is never really hilarious but it is consistently amusing throughout and the script plays with the characters with wit and genuine charm.

The actors needed to do well with the script then and they do. Guinness is strong, at times keeping the audience with him, at others letting us see through him and care for his wives. De Carlo is sassy and sexy as required (even if her accent is a bit off) and conversely Johnson is the typical Englishman's wife; both play their roles well but also change well when the script requires. Modern viewers may be a little put off by white actors playing Algerians but it didn't bother me at all and I felt that the support cast did well in support of the lead three.

Overall this is a lovely little comedy that is consistently amusing with a nice script and good performances from the main actors. It isn't too surprising or hilarious but fans of Ealing comedies will enjoy it as a light bit of entertainment.

It's OK

[AAdaSC · 5/10 · 12 March 2011]

Captain St. James (Alec Guiness) is put against a wall to be shot by a firing squad in Morroco. His uncle Lawrence (Miles Malleson) wants to know why (and is very irritating in his delivery) and is told the story by Ricco (Charles Goldner). It's a tale of bigamy - Captain St. James has a wife Maud (Celia Johnson) in Gibralter and a mistress Nita (Yvonne De Carlo) in Morroco and he captains his passenger ship between these two destinations.

This film is OK while you're watching it, although it is quite annoying at the beginning when we have to hear "Hello capitane" spoken by everyone that Guiness encounters. He's just so popular and everyone loves him......yuk!....puke!..... If you are an Alec Guiness fan, you will like the film. I think he looks a bit weird and is slightly unconvincing in his role as a wild, dancing party-goer. Celia Johnson is irritating and equally unconvincing as a dancing party-babe. There is a moment where the film could get rather more interesting near the end when the 2 women meet each other not realizing who they are. It fizzles out and there is never any real suspense in the film.

The film does have some funny moments - watch how Guiness convinces De Carlo that cooking will destroy her and make her fat and ugly, and there is a nice touch with the photo above his bed on the ship which he can switch between mistress and wife depending on who he is sailing to meet. There is also a funny moment when Goldner is forced to spontaneously play along with the deception when he meets Celia Johnson for the first time and realizes that she is the wife. Apart from that, the film chugs along.

However, what exactly is the crime that Guiness is being executed for? We have to assume that he has been caught as a bigamist and this is illegal on penalty of death. The story suddenly stops and the film ends - very poor resolution. The cast somehow all manage to be slightly irritating with the exception of Yvonne De Carlo. This is a vehicle for Alec Guiness to play a scoundrel and the ending is not surprising.

Not a flaw!

[jonathangardiner-77568 · 8/10 · 3 January 2019]

Although Guinness is the star, there are other star performances. Charles Goldner is superb as Ricco, his double takes are crafted examples of the James Finlayson style. His premature death means his performances are few. Johnson comes alive, it was a part she obviously relished. It is also spot the actor! Cabot is there in wonderful disguise plus one liners from a host of talent. The middle section in the Bazaar is a lesson in acting and direction. And throughout the music of Arnold - wonderful.

Paradise Lost

[st-shot · 4/10 · 20 February 2022]

Ferry Captain, Henry St. James has worked a sweet deal out for himself as a bigamist. One wife (Celia Johnson) lives in Gibralter and the other (Yvonne DiCarlo) on the other end of the ferry line in Spanish Morrocco. With the sea between the two St. James believes he has the perfect balance of staid home life and wild night life that he capitalizes on for years (with a few close calls) before a day of reckoning puts him in front of a firing squad.

Captain's Paradise has the hint of screwball that Brit filmmakers and actors never quite got the grasp of. Too proper perhaps and Paradise fails to get much beyond light comedy status with the exception of a zany mambo between the Cap and DiCarlo. Guiness is smug, shallow and drab, Johnson dull, while DiCarlo doing a decent comic accent adds some spark.

Lifeless and albeit light comedy that it may have been in its day it takes on an offensiveness today, not only with its crass misogyny, but its treatment of Moroccan officials and people as totally corrupt. A flaccid, condescending comedy.

The Last of the Classic Guness Comedies of the late 40's & early 50's

[dmdornctusa · 9/10 · 30 December 2007]

I had never seen this comedy nominated in the 1953 Academy Awards for for best screenplay. The previous comments echo most of my on sentiments. The cast includes Sebastian Cabot in a minor role. It is a show case for Ginnness's versatility. His dance sequneces are amazing. The whole ensemble is is excellent. And the two wives are perfectly cast.

This classic Gunness comedy is included as a bonus film in Anchor Bays boxed set of DVDs, THE GUNNESS COLLECTION, which includes the five Ealing Studio Comedies, "Kind Hearts & Coronets", "The Lavender Hill Mob", The Man in the Whtie Suit" and "The Lady Killers". Amazon has the set for around $35...got to be one of the best bargain sets around.

Comic Look at deep down dream of all Males of the Species and what would happen if it all came true!

[redryan64 · 10/10 · 5 January 2009]

HAVING an uncanny ability to get so immersed in any role he took as to seemingly disappear in the film; Alec Guiness bids fair to demonstrate the really great range that he possessed, be it on stage or in front of the camera. Whenever the future Sir Alec is on the screen, he commands one's undivided attention.

IN today's honoree film, THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE (London Films/British Lion Film Corporation, 1953), he is the Captain in the title. He runs a ferry boat service that runs between Spanish Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, running to Gibraltar and back. As Captain Henry St. James, he is a very respected citizen on both sides of the run. No one, not even his Chief Officer Ricco (Charles Goldner) suspect him to be anything other than what his chosen outward appearance showed the world.

THE STORY begins at the end and uses the narration of the Chief Officer in telling the story; kind of the same way that Mr. Orson Welles did with CITIZEN KANE (Mercury Theatre Production, RKO Radio Pictures, 1949). As the story unfolds we learn that the good Captain is indeed a much busier guy than his very proper, cultured demeanor would reveal.

ALL that we'll say here is that he is very busy guy on both ends of his route. All of the great comic sequences come from the mixing of the two worlds; and that starts to happen about a third of the way through the movie.

ONCE again, a well cast team of supporting players rise to the occasion in making the approximately 97 minutes seemingly fly by. The cast includes Yvonne DeCarlo, Celia Johnson, Charles Goldner and a young Sebastian Cabot.

ADDITIONAL to the studio filmed scenes, extensive location shooting was done in The British Colony of Gibraltar; which makes for as authentic a backdrop as could be found. Fine use of Black & White Film is in evidence; which also gives an appearance of being real life scenes from a newsreel.

AS an overview of THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE and an objective review; we can only say good things about it. There seems to be no point that one could point to as being an obvious weakness.

ONE couldn't say too much in its favour.

SO, whatta ya think, Schultz? How's about a **** rating.

POODLE SCHNITZ!!

Undernourished Comedy

[jongibbo · 4/10 · 19 June 2018]

For a film with a running time of just over an hour and a half, this contains a lot of filler. It takes an eternity to set up the basic situation, and doesn't do a lot with it when it eventually does. When it does gets going, it does contain some laughs, but not as many as one would expect. Not a total waste of time, but I was left with the feeling that television today would deal with this far more effectively and do it in about half the time.