The Captain's Paradise
Encyclopedia
The Captain's Paradise is a 1953
British
comedy film
starring Alec Guinness
and directed by Anthony Kimmins
. It is set in Gibraltar
and northern Morocco
, and on a ship that travels between them.
In 1958, the film was made into a Broadway
musical comedy, retitled Oh, Captain!
.
) is in front of a firing squad and the viewer soon learns of the curious chain of events that brought him to his fate. He was a prosperous seafaring man
, is a bigamist
, maintaining households at either end of the route his ship takes every few days. On Gibraltar, he lives with quiet, very domestic Maud (Celia Johnson
); he comes home to find his pipe and slipper
s ready for him, and his adoring wife in the kitchen preparing his dinner. He sits cosily in his armchair, reads the papers
and relaxes. In Morocco on the other hand, his wife Nita (Yvonne de Carlo
) is a hot-blooded, exotic lady, who shuns housework and prefers to be taken out to noisy, crowded restaurants, where they lead a loud and wild lifestyle.
Growing overly careless, St. James begins to make several mistakes. This leads to his second in command, Ricco (Charles Goldner
), discovering the existence of both wives, something that the Captain had concealed from his crew. Ricco agrees to assist St. James in maintaining the deception and is soon called into action when on a whim Maud flies to North Africa and enjoys a chance meeting with Nita. A panicked Ricco and St. James arrange to have Maud arrested and deported before she and Nita can realise that they are in fact married to the same person. He convinces Maud that North Africa is a dangerous place and that she should never return there.
Over time, the two wives begin to change: Maud expresses a desire to go out and paint the town red, while Nita wants to stay home and cook for her man. Henry wants things to stay just the way they have been, and his attempts to maintain the status quo result in both wives leaving him for their lovers. Unfortunately, in the heat of an argument, Nita shoots and kills her lover. To spare Nita, Captain St. James claims he was the one who killed her lover.
1953 in film
The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
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...
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...
starring Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
and directed by Anthony Kimmins
Anthony Kimmins
Anthony Kimmins was a director, playwright, screenwriter, producer and actor.Kimmins was born in Harrow, Middlesex, England on 10 November 1901, the son of the social activists Charles William Kimmins and Grace Kimmins. He served in the Royal Navy, and upon leaving the navy he became an actor.His...
. It is set in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and northern Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and on a ship that travels between them.
In 1958, the film was made into a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical comedy, retitled Oh, Captain!
Oh, Captain!
Oh, Captain! is a musical comedy based on the film The Captain's Paradise, which had been written by Alec Coppel and Nicholas Phipps. The film starred Alec Guinness as a philandering ship's captain, with a wife in one port and a mistress in another. The musical starred Tony Randall, and updated the...
.
Plot summary
Captain Henry St. James (Alec GuinnessAlec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
) is in front of a firing squad and the viewer soon learns of the curious chain of events that brought him to his fate. He was a prosperous seafaring man
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
, is a bigamist
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
, maintaining households at either end of the route his ship takes every few days. On Gibraltar, he lives with quiet, very domestic Maud (Celia Johnson
Celia Johnson
Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
); he comes home to find his pipe and slipper
Slipper
A slipper or houseshoe is a semi-closed type of indoor/outdoor shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by a strap running over the toes or instep. Slippers are soft and lightweight compared to other types of footwear. They are mostly made of soft or comforting materials that allow a...
s ready for him, and his adoring wife in the kitchen preparing his dinner. He sits cosily in his armchair, reads the papers
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
and relaxes. In Morocco on the other hand, his wife Nita (Yvonne de Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo was a Canadian-born American actress of film and television. During her six-decade career, her most frequent appearances in film came in the 1940s and 1950s and included her best-known film roles, such as of Anna Marie in Salome Where She Danced ; Anna in Criss Cross ; Sephora the...
) is a hot-blooded, exotic lady, who shuns housework and prefers to be taken out to noisy, crowded restaurants, where they lead a loud and wild lifestyle.
Growing overly careless, St. James begins to make several mistakes. This leads to his second in command, Ricco (Charles Goldner
Charles Goldner
Charles Goldner was an Austrian-born actor who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. Born in Vienna, Austria on 7 December 1900, he made his screen debut in the 1940 film Room for Two and went on to appear in Brighton Rock, No Orchids for Miss Blandish, Bond Street and...
), discovering the existence of both wives, something that the Captain had concealed from his crew. Ricco agrees to assist St. James in maintaining the deception and is soon called into action when on a whim Maud flies to North Africa and enjoys a chance meeting with Nita. A panicked Ricco and St. James arrange to have Maud arrested and deported before she and Nita can realise that they are in fact married to the same person. He convinces Maud that North Africa is a dangerous place and that she should never return there.
Over time, the two wives begin to change: Maud expresses a desire to go out and paint the town red, while Nita wants to stay home and cook for her man. Henry wants things to stay just the way they have been, and his attempts to maintain the status quo result in both wives leaving him for their lovers. Unfortunately, in the heat of an argument, Nita shoots and kills her lover. To spare Nita, Captain St. James claims he was the one who killed her lover.
Cast
- Alec GuinnessAlec GuinnessSir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
- Captain Henry St. James - Yvonne De CarloYvonne De CarloYvonne De Carlo was a Canadian-born American actress of film and television. During her six-decade career, her most frequent appearances in film came in the 1940s and 1950s and included her best-known film roles, such as of Anna Marie in Salome Where She Danced ; Anna in Criss Cross ; Sephora the...
- Nita - Celia JohnsonCelia JohnsonDame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
- Maud - Charles GoldnerCharles GoldnerCharles Goldner was an Austrian-born actor who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. Born in Vienna, Austria on 7 December 1900, he made his screen debut in the 1940 film Room for Two and went on to appear in Brighton Rock, No Orchids for Miss Blandish, Bond Street and...
- Chief Officer Ricco - Walter Crisham - Bob
- Nicholas PhippsNicholas PhippsNicholas Phipps was a British actor and screenwriter who appeared in more than thirty films during a career that lasted between 1938 and 1970. He was born in London in 1913. He made his screen debut in the 1938 television film Hands Across the Sea. He appeared mainly in British comedy films, often...
- The Major - Joyce Barbour - Mrs Reid, the housekeeper
- Bill FraserBill Fraser-External links:* *...
- Absalom - Ambrosine PhillpottsAmbrosine Phillpotts-Selected filmography:* This Man Is Mine * The Chiltern Hundreds * The Franchise Affair * Happy Go Lovely * Mr...
- Marjorie - Miles MallesonMiles MallesonWilliam Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
- Lawrence St. James - Bill FraserBill Fraser-External links:* *...
- Absalom (taxi driver) - Ferdy MayneFerdy Mayne-Early life:He was born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel, in Mainz, Germany. His German father was the Judge of Mayence, and his half-English mother gave singing lessons. Because his family was Jewish, he was sent to England to protect him from the Nazis, and he stayed with his aunt, the photographer...
- The Sheikh - Sebastian CabotSebastian CabotSebastian Cabot may refer to:*Sebastian Cabot , Italian explorer*Sebastian Cabot , British actor...
- Ali (vendor) - Peter BullPeter BullPeter Cecil Bull, DSC was a British character actor.- Biography :He was the fourth and youngest son of Hammersmith MP Sir William James Bull, 1st Bt..Bull was educated at Winchester College...
- Kalikan firing-squad officer - Claudia Grey - Susan Dailey
- Ann Hefferman - Daphne Bligh
- Arthur GomezArthur GomezArthur Gómez is a Gambian football striker.- Career :He began his playing career at a team called the Banjul Hawks and Flamemins F.C.. Gómez joined Manchester United in July 2001. Having played internationally at a young age, the English club had spotted him and he was soon apart of the youth ranks...
- Chief steward - George BensonGeorge Benson (actor)George Christopher Benson was a Welsh and English actor of both theatre and screen, whose career spanned from the 1930s to the late 1970s...
- Mr. Salmon