Bees in Paradise
Encyclopedia
Bees in Paradise is a 1944
British
musical
comedy film
directed by Val Guest
and starring Arthur Askey
, Anne Shelton and Peter Graves
. It was produced by Edward Black
at Gainsborough Pictures
.
comedy
is set on a mysterious island where scantily clad warrior women hold all the power and men are regarded as disposable beings useful only for breeding purposes. Comic scenes result when four airmen arrive on the island and become the object of native womenfolk's desires.
(northwest of Freetown), is not happy. The town crier of the all-female hive-like colony (around two thousand strong) has just reported that there have only been two births within the last eighteen months and both of them were boys. As the Queen points out to Jani, her Minister of Propaganda
: the only thing worse than boys is men. She demands more marriages, even going as far to think about passing conscription into law. However, Jani points out that the drones (which is how the inhabitants of this island refer to men) in captivity are not willing to marry any of the beautiful island women, because as soon as the two-month honeymoon is over the bridegrooms are executed.
An Allied
bomber plane is in trouble overhead. The ferry pilot, Peter Lovell, struggles to keep control while Arthur Tucker is suffering from airsickness. The four aircrew bail out and parachute down on Paradise Island. The crew are quickly captured by the native woman and Rouna, the colony's leading journalist, sets her eye on the diminutive Arthur Tucker (mostly due to her long-repressed boy-craziness).
Brought before the Queen, the four airmen try to ingratiate themselves. The Queen explains that they are free to move around the island and if rescued they will be permitted to leave. However, she encourages them to stay and marry within the colony. She hints at the death sentence but the airmen fail to pick up on the inference.
Escorted around the town by guards, Arthur confesses he might be in love with redheaded Jani. However, he has been betrothed to Rouana, who desperate flirts with him. He avoids her and continues to chase Jani but to no avail. She's more interested in Peter, who in turn has fallen in love with her. She tries to prevent him falling for her, as she knows it will result in his death.
Arthur and his friend Max sneak into the holy Temple of the Hive, where the island's law is written, and there they learn of the two-month honeymoon and subsequent death sentence. They also learn that the law states a wedding occurs whenever a woman and man share wine.
At the town's baths
, Jani discovers that many of the islanders are disenchanted with how the men have been allocated. Jani tries to reassure everyone that no one is officially betrothed yet. Various ideas are thrown around, including communism
. Jani decides to be noble and offers a solution (even if it means her losing her chance of romance with Peter). The cup final of the island's rugby
league takes place tomorrow; the winning team will draw lots and the lucky four who win that will get the men.
The scheduled rugby match gets underway the next day, with Arthur refereeing. Arthur is knocked out during play and when he wakes in Rouana's home she tricks him into drinking wine with her. Panicked, Arthur flees.
With Peter and Jani's help, Arthur disguises himself as a (female) maid in Jani's household. Arthur tries to convince Jani that he loves her,but she ignores him and he is pounced on by the ever-eager Rouana again. Arthur makes a perilous rooftop escape from her but ends up falling through the roof of the Queen's bedchamber. Arthur tries to explain to her that the island's laws are ridiculous but the Queen refuses to listen; however, she doesn't give his disguise away when the palace guard rush in.
The next day, Rouana requests in court that the death sentence is waived for her and Arthur, as there is a precedent. Twenty years ago one woman fell so in love with a man that the law was overturned. However, when Arthur is put on the witness stand, he admits he doesn't love Rouana. This results in him being condemned to death (by being forced to leap off the highest cliff).
By the morning of the execution, Ronnie, the aircrew's radio operator, has managed to repair the plane's radio. Rescue is on its way. Arthur is rescued by Ronnie and Max in drag
, and they all escape to the beach where Jani has arranged for a boat to be waiting for them.
(All songs written by Val Guest and Manning Sherwin.)
. Askey records in his autobiography that whilst filming the crew was strafed by the Luftwaffe
and he was slightly injured as a result.
1944 in film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
British
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Val Guest
Val Guest
Val Guest was a British film director, best known for his science-fiction films for Hammer Film Productions in the 1950s, but who also enjoyed a long, varied and active career in the film industry from the early 1930s up until the early 1980s.-Early life and career:He was born Valmond Maurice...
and starring Arthur Askey
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
, Anne Shelton and Peter Graves
Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves
Peter George Wellesley Graves, 8th Baron Graves , was a British actor.Born in London, Graves was the son of Henry Algernon Claude Graves, 7th Baron Graves. Admiral Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves, was his great-great-great-grandfather...
. It was produced by Edward Black
Edward Black (producer)
Edward Black was an English film producer.-Partial filmography:* Oh, Mr Porter! * Good Morning, Boys * Doctor Syn * Convict 99 * The Lady Vanishes...
at Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
.
Synopsis
This musicalMusical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
is set on a mysterious island where scantily clad warrior women hold all the power and men are regarded as disposable beings useful only for breeding purposes. Comic scenes result when four airmen arrive on the island and become the object of native womenfolk's desires.
Plot summary
The Queen of Paradise Island, a tiny uncharted isle somewhere in the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
(northwest of Freetown), is not happy. The town crier of the all-female hive-like colony (around two thousand strong) has just reported that there have only been two births within the last eighteen months and both of them were boys. As the Queen points out to Jani, her Minister of Propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
: the only thing worse than boys is men. She demands more marriages, even going as far to think about passing conscription into law. However, Jani points out that the drones (which is how the inhabitants of this island refer to men) in captivity are not willing to marry any of the beautiful island women, because as soon as the two-month honeymoon is over the bridegrooms are executed.
An Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
bomber plane is in trouble overhead. The ferry pilot, Peter Lovell, struggles to keep control while Arthur Tucker is suffering from airsickness. The four aircrew bail out and parachute down on Paradise Island. The crew are quickly captured by the native woman and Rouna, the colony's leading journalist, sets her eye on the diminutive Arthur Tucker (mostly due to her long-repressed boy-craziness).
Brought before the Queen, the four airmen try to ingratiate themselves. The Queen explains that they are free to move around the island and if rescued they will be permitted to leave. However, she encourages them to stay and marry within the colony. She hints at the death sentence but the airmen fail to pick up on the inference.
Escorted around the town by guards, Arthur confesses he might be in love with redheaded Jani. However, he has been betrothed to Rouana, who desperate flirts with him. He avoids her and continues to chase Jani but to no avail. She's more interested in Peter, who in turn has fallen in love with her. She tries to prevent him falling for her, as she knows it will result in his death.
Arthur and his friend Max sneak into the holy Temple of the Hive, where the island's law is written, and there they learn of the two-month honeymoon and subsequent death sentence. They also learn that the law states a wedding occurs whenever a woman and man share wine.
At the town's baths
Bathing
Bathing is the washing or cleansing of the body in a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution. It may be practised for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity....
, Jani discovers that many of the islanders are disenchanted with how the men have been allocated. Jani tries to reassure everyone that no one is officially betrothed yet. Various ideas are thrown around, including communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Jani decides to be noble and offers a solution (even if it means her losing her chance of romance with Peter). The cup final of the island's rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
league takes place tomorrow; the winning team will draw lots and the lucky four who win that will get the men.
The scheduled rugby match gets underway the next day, with Arthur refereeing. Arthur is knocked out during play and when he wakes in Rouana's home she tricks him into drinking wine with her. Panicked, Arthur flees.
With Peter and Jani's help, Arthur disguises himself as a (female) maid in Jani's household. Arthur tries to convince Jani that he loves her,but she ignores him and he is pounced on by the ever-eager Rouana again. Arthur makes a perilous rooftop escape from her but ends up falling through the roof of the Queen's bedchamber. Arthur tries to explain to her that the island's laws are ridiculous but the Queen refuses to listen; however, she doesn't give his disguise away when the palace guard rush in.
The next day, Rouana requests in court that the death sentence is waived for her and Arthur, as there is a precedent. Twenty years ago one woman fell so in love with a man that the law was overturned. However, when Arthur is put on the witness stand, he admits he doesn't love Rouana. This results in him being condemned to death (by being forced to leap off the highest cliff).
By the morning of the execution, Ronnie, the aircrew's radio operator, has managed to repair the plane's radio. Rescue is on its way. Arthur is rescued by Ronnie and Max in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
, and they all escape to the beach where Jani has arranged for a boat to be waiting for them.
Cast
- Arthur AskeyArthur AskeyArthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
as Arthur Tucker - Anne Shelton as Rouana Siloy
- Peter GravesPeter GravesPeter Graves may refer to:* Peter Graves , American actor* Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves , English actor and peer* Peter Graves , English cricketer...
as Peter Lovell - Ronald ShinerRonald ShinerRonald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedic actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.-Career:...
as Ronald Wild - Jean KentJean KentJean Kent is a British film actress who appeared in a number of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s.-Biography:Jean Kent was born in Brixton, London as Joan Mildred Summerfield. She started her theatrical career as a dancer in 1931. Initially, she used the stage name of Jean Carr when she...
as Jani - Max BaconMax Bacon (actor)-Filmography:* Kicking the Moon Around * King Arthur Was a Gentleman * Miss London Ltd. * Bees in Paradise * Give Us the Moon * The Gambler and the Lady * Take a Powder...
as Max Adler - Antoinette CellierAntoinette CellierAntoinette Cellier was an English film and theatre actress.-Early life and education:She was born in Broadstairs, Kent, England. Her father, Frank Cellier, was a film and theatre actor...
as The Queen - Joy SheltonJoy SheltonJoy Shelton was an English actress, who performed in films, radio and television.-Biography:Joy Shelton was born in London on 3 June 1922...
as Almura - Beatrice VarleyBeatrice VarleyBeatrice Varley was a British actress who appeared in a variety of television and film roles between 1936 and 1964...
as Moagga
Soundtrack
- Anne Shelton - "Keep a Sunbeam in Your Pocket".
- The Four in Harmony - "Women are the Greatest Ones".
- Jean Kent - "I'm a Wolf on My Mother's Side".
- Arthur Askey and Anne Shelton - "It Can Happen Anywhere".
- Jean Kent and Arthur Askey - "Are You Naturally Romantic?".
- Arthur Askey and Max Bacon - "Keep a Sunbeam in Your Pocket (Reprise)".
- The Four in Harmony, Anne Shelton, Jean Kent, and Peter Graves - "Don't Ever Leave Me".
- Anne Shelton and Joy Shelton - "The Age of Discretion".
- Arthur Askey and Anne Shelton - "Going Hither and Dither with You".
(All songs written by Val Guest and Manning Sherwin.)
Production
Ostensibly set on a tropical island, the movie was filmed on location in TorquayTorquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
. Askey records in his autobiography that whilst filming the crew was strafed by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
and he was slightly injured as a result.