The Captain's Paradise (1953)
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79% of users liked it
(208 ratings)
In this bright British comedy, we meet Capt. Henry St. James (Alec Guinness) as he stands before a firing squad and then learn of the curious chain of events that brought him to his fate. Henry is a ship's captain ferrying a steamer between Gibraltar and North Africa on a regular basis, and… More In this bright British comedy, we meet Capt. Henry St. James (Alec Guinness) as he stands before a firing squad and then learn of the curious chain of events that brought him to his fate. Henry is a ship's captain ferrying a steamer between Gibraltar and North Africa on a regular basis, and he's taken the notion of "a girl in every port" to a whole new level; he has a wife on each side of the water. In Gibraltar, there's Maude (Celia Johnson), an even-tempered housewife who keeps the house tidy and has dinner ready when Henry likes it. In North Africa, mate number two is Nita (Yvonne DeCarlo), who is a sultry fun seeker who likes to hit the nightspots and dance 'till dawn. Between the two of them, Henry would seem to have the best of both worlds; Chief Officer Ricco (Charles Goldner) openly envies Henry's remarkable romantic situation. But things start to go sour when Maude suddenly decides she's a stick in the mud and wants to start living it up, while Nita becomes a homebody and begins learning to cook; Henry is none too happy about either development, and before long he finds he has no spouse on either shore. The Captain's Paradise was trimmed from 93 to 84 minutes for its initial United States release. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Anthony Kimmins
- Genres
- Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Sep 28, 1953 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Starring Alec Guinness, this mildly entertaining British comedy was nominated for the Motion Picture Story Oscar.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Disappointing lighthearted one-note sexual farce about a bigamist
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Lacks something of the charm of the Ealing films -- though it's hard to pinpoint why -- it's an all-too-often-overlooked Guinness film that deserves rediscovery
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Alec Guinness
as Capt. Henry St. James
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Yvonne De Carlo
as Nita St. James
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Celia Johnson
as Maud St. James
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Charles Goldner
as Chief Officer Ricco
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Miles Malleson
as Lawrence St. James
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Peter Bull
as Kalikan Officer
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Tutte Lemkow
as Principal Dancer
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Ann Heffernan
as Daphne Bligh
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Walter Crisham
as Bob
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Robert A'Dair
as 3rd Customs Official
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Joss Ambler
as Prof. Ebbart
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Michael Balfour
as 2nd Customs Official
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Joyce Barbour
as Mrs. Reid
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George Benson
as Salmon
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Sebastian Cabot
as Ali
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Roger Delgado
as Kalikan Policeman
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Bill Fraser
as Absalom
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Claudia Gray
as Susan Dailey
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Andrea Malandrinos
as Maitre d'Hotel
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Ferdinand "Ferdy" Mayne
as Sheikh
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Ambrosine Phillpotts
as Marjorie
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Nicholas Phipps
as Major
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Victor Fairley
as Customs Official
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Catherina Ferraz
as Shopowner
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Arthur Gomez
as Chief Steward
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Henry Longhurst
as Prof. Killick
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Bernard Rebel
as Mr. Wheeler
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Armando Guinle
as Chief Engineer
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Roy Purcell
as Officer of the Watch
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Alejandro Martínez
as Guitarist
