The Demi-Paradise
Encyclopedia
The Demi-Paradise is a 1943 comedy film
made by Two Cities Films
and distributed in the U.S. by Universal Pictures
. It starred Laurence Olivier
as a Soviet inventor who travels to England to have his revolutionary propeller manufactured, and Penelope Dudley Ward
as the woman who falls in love with him. It was directed by Anthony Asquith
and produced by Anatole de Grunwald
and Filippo Del Giudice
from a screenplay by de Grunwald. The music score was by Nicholas Brodszky and the cinematography by Bernard Knowles
.
The film is a gentle satire on the values the English hold so dear. It was designed to encourage sympathy between Britain and the Soviet Union
. The film's title is a reference to John of Gaunt's famous speech in Richard II
which begins:
Miles Malleson
, John Laurie
, George Cole, and Wilfrid Hyde-White
had minor roles.
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...
made by Two Cities Films
Two Cities Films
Two Cities Films was a British film production company. Formed in 1937, it was originally envisaged as a production company operating in the two cities of London and Rome which gave the company its name....
and distributed in the U.S. by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
. It starred Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
as a Soviet inventor who travels to England to have his revolutionary propeller manufactured, and Penelope Dudley Ward
Penelope Dudley Ward
Penelope Ann Rachel, Lady Reed , known as Penelope Dudley-Ward, was an English actress.Born Penelope Anne Rachel Dudley Ward in London, she was the elder daughter of The Right Honourable William Dudley Ward and the leading socialite Freda Dudley Ward, most well-known for being the long-time...
as the woman who falls in love with him. It was directed by Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith was a leading English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy and The Browning Version , among other adaptations...
and produced by Anatole de Grunwald
Anatole de Grunwald
Anatole "Tolly" de Grunwald was a British film producer and screenwriter.Anatole de Grunwald was born in Petrograd , Russia, the son of a diplomat in the service of Tsar Nicholas II. He was seven years old when his father was forced to flee with his family to England during the 1917 Bolshevik...
and Filippo Del Giudice
Filippo Del Giudice
Filippo Del Giudice, , born in Trani, Italy, was an Italian film producer.In 1933 he fled fascist Italy for England and entered films four years later when, with Mario Zampi, he founded Two Cities Films.-External links:...
from a screenplay by de Grunwald. The music score was by Nicholas Brodszky and the cinematography by Bernard Knowles
Bernard Knowles
Bernard Knowles was an English film director, producer, cinematographer and screenwriter. Born in Manchester, Knowles worked with Alfred Hitchcock on numerous occasions before the director emigrated to Hollywood...
.
The film is a gentle satire on the values the English hold so dear. It was designed to encourage sympathy between Britain and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The film's title is a reference to John of Gaunt's famous speech in Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
which begins:
- This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
- This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
- This other Eden, demi-paradise
Cast
- Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
as Ivan Kouznetsoff - Penelope Dudley-Ward as Ann (as Penelope Ward)
- Marjorie FieldingMarjorie Fielding-Selected filmography:* Quiet Wedding * Spring in Park Lane * Conspirator * The Mudlark * The Lavender Hill Mob * Mandy * The Magic Box...
as Mrs. Tisdall - Margaret RutherfordMargaret RutherfordDame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...
as Rowena Ventnor - Felix AylmerFelix AylmerSir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
as Mr. Runalow, a noted expert in naval engineering, head of the firm Kouznetsoff deals with, and Ann's grandfather - George Thorpe as Herbert Tisdall
- Leslie HensonLeslie HensonLeslie Lincoln Henson was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comedian who enjoyed a long stage career...
as Himself - Guy MiddletonGuy MiddletonGuy Middleton Powell, usually credited as Guy Middleton, was an English film character actor.Middleton was born in Hove, England and originally worked in the London Stock Exchange, before turning to acting in the 1930s...
as Dick Christian - Michael ShepleyMichael ShepleyMichael Shepley , was a British actor, appearing in films and some television between 1931 and 1961....
as Mr. Walford - Edie Martin as Miss Winifred Tisdall
- Muriel AkedMuriel AkedMuriel Aked was a British film actress. She was a student at Liverpool Repertory Theatre for six months but left to do war work. She made her screen debut in 1920 in A Sister to Assist 'Er...
as Mrs. Tisdall-Stanton - Joyce GrenfellJoyce GrenfellJoyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
as Sybil Paulson - Everley GreggEverley GreggEverley Gregg was a British actress.She made her film debut in the 1933 film The Private Life of Henry VIII as Catherine Parr, Henry's last wife...
as Mrs. Flannel - Jack WatlingJack WatlingJack Watling was a British actor.-Early life:Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts as a child and made his stage debut in Where the Rainbow Ends at the Holborn Empire in 1936...
as Tom - David KeirDavid Keir-Selected filmography:* The Howard Case * The Arsenal Stadium Mystery * The Ghost of St. Michael's * Salute John Citizen * Let the People Sing * Meet Sexton Blake...
as Jordan - Aubrey MallalieuAubrey MallalieuAubrey Mallalieu was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s....
as Toomes - Beatrice HarrisonBeatrice HarrisonBeatrice Harrison was a British cellist active in the first half of the 20th century. She gave first performances of several important English works, especially those of Frederick Delius, and made the first or standard recordings of others.-Early training:Beatrice Harrison was born in Roorkee,...
as herself
Miles Malleson
Miles Malleson
William 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...
, John Laurie
John Laurie
John Paton Laurie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. Although he is now probably most recognised for his role as Private James Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army , he appeared in hundreds of feature films, including films by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier...
, George Cole, and Wilfrid Hyde-White
Wilfrid Hyde-White
Wilfrid Hyde-White was an English character actor.-Early life and career:Wilfrid Hyde White was born at the rectory in Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, the son of William Edward White, canon of Gloucester Cathedral, and his wife, Ethel Adelaide Drought...
had minor roles.