The Captain's Paradise (1953)

Director:

Anthony Kimmins

Writers:

Alec Coppel (story)
Alec Coppel (writer) ...

Release Date:

28 September 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

He makes two-timing an art...and gets away with it

Plot:

The bigamist captain of a ferry boat between the restricted British colony in Gibralter and Spanish Morocco has a woman of differing appeal and temperament in each port.

Plot Keywords:

Morocco | Ferry Boat | Tangiers | Bigamist | Gibraltar

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Alec Guinness	...	Capt. Henry St. James
Yvonne De Carlo	...	Nita St. James
Celia Johnson	...	Maud St. James
Charles Goldner	...	Chief Officer Ricco
Miles Malleson	...	Lawrence St. James
Walter Crisham	...	Bob
Nicholas Phipps	...	The Major
Bill Fraser	...	Absalom (taxi driver)
Ferdy Mayne	...	The Sheikh
Sebastian Cabot	...	Ali (vendor)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Adair	...	Customs official #3
Joss Ambler	...	Prof. Ebbart
Paul Armstrong	...	Deck officer
Michael Balfour	...	Customs official #2
Joyce Barbour	...	Mrs. Reid (housekeeper)
George Benson	...	Mr. Salmon
Peter Bull	...	Kalikan firing-squad officer
Roger Delgado	...	Kalikan policeman
Jacinta Dicks	...	Flower seller
Victor Fairley	...	Customs official #1
Catherina Ferraz	...	Shopkeeper
Arthur Gomez	...	Chief steward
Claudia Grey	...	Susan Dailey
Armand Guinle	...	Chief engineer
Ann Hefferman	...	Daphne Bligh
Raymond Hoole	...	Storekeeper
Tutte Lemkow	...	Principal dancer
Henry B. Longhurst	...	Prof. Killick
Andreas Malandrinos	...	Maitre d'Hotel (as Andre Malandrinos)
Alejandro Martínez	...	Guitarist
Ambrosine Phillpotts	...	Majorie (with the major)
Bernard Rebel	...	Mr. Wheeler

Also Known As:

Paradise
The Captain's Progress
Capitaine Paradis (France) [fr]
Der Schlüssel zum Paradies (West Germany) [de]
Der Weg zum Paradies (Austria) [de]
El paraíso del capitán (Spain) [es]
Het paradijs van de kapitein (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Il paradiso del capitano Holland (Italy) [it]
Kapteenin paratiisi (Finland) [fi]
Kaptens paradis (Sweden) [sv]
Le paradis du capitaine (Belgium: French title) [fr]
O kapetanios me tis dyo gynaikes (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1990)

Filming Locations:

Gibraltar

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

Professional dancer Yvonne De Carlo persuaded director Anthony Kimmins to talk Alec Guinness into doing the mambo with her in a night club sequence. Guinness, not usually thought of as a physical actor, consented to a week's worth of dance lessons from De Carlo and the sequence is one of the film's highlights.

Quotes:

Chief Officer Ricco: I'll introduce myself ladies... Chief Officer Ricco.
Susan Dailey: I'm Miss Dailey... and this is Miss Bligh.
Chief Officer Ricco: To you, Carlos.
Daphne Bligh: [rudely] And To YOU, Miss Dailey. and Miss Bligh.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Coffee, Tea or Me? (1973) (TV)

A true comic delight....

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.