The Captain's Paradise (1953)

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Everything about this delightful comedy starring Alec Guinness cries out "Ealing Studios" – that factory for genial humor of a more innocent (but still wide awake) time. So it's not a surprise many commenters here mistake "The Captain's Paradise" as an Ealing production.It isn't, but it's about as close to Ealing in spirit as you can get: Enchanting black-and-white photography that doesn't call attention to itself, fun-making at social strictures, a lead performance by Guinness that alternates between tragic and goofy, and a short running time. It's a lot better than some Ealings I've seen, if not as great as those two studio pillars, "The Ladykillers" and "Kind Hearts And Coronets."Guinness's character in this film is a ferryboat captain who transports people and cargo from the British island colony of Gibraltar to the coastal enclave of Kalik, where steamy nights and ersatz Spanish are the rule. The captain's life is much enhanced by the fact he has a lady at each port, one a prim British wife (Celia Johnson) who knows him as Capt. Henry St. James; the other a fiery Latin flamenco dancer (Yvonne De Carlo) who knows him as "Jimmy.""Two women, each with half the qualities necessary for a man, and therefore quite easy to find," is how he explains his approach to the only man who knows his secret, his ship's first mate Ricco (Charles Goldner). "And once found, never to meet!" But can the captain keep these women from meeting each other? What do you think!Guinness is front and center throughout the film, delivering a cerebral, understated profile in smugitude that begins with his eyes. Alternately heavy-lidded in repose or wide and blazing when upset, his eye reactions cue much of the laughter in this somewhat sedate comedy. It's a wonderfully efficient performance, centered by a scene where he hoofs a mean two-step with De Carlo, cigarette dangling lazy from his lips."He who enters paradise must have a golden key," the captain says before another rendezvous with his dancing lover. That's about as blue as this film gets, though De Carlo flashes some legs and Johnson, well, let's just say she's not as proper as we are led to think.People who criticize "The Captain's Paradise" as sexist or celebrating adultery miss the point. As an Ealing... well, almost an Ealing comedy, "Paradise" plays with stereotypes as a form of satire. That the captain thinks he has a great thing going is part of the humor. So is the fact he doesn't seem able to listen or process it when his women tell him otherwise. The tone set by director Anthony Kimmins is so merry it can be mistaken for approval, but this ignores the delicious resolution of the captain's two loves.The script by Alec Coppel and Nicholas Phipps sets up the captain's fragile situation. Prim Maud craves a bikini but settles for a vacuum. For them, it's hot cocoa and "beddy-byes" at 10. With fiery Nita, it's champagne and dancing all night at a place that looks like Rick's All- American Café, Guinness with a rose in his teeth. Anyone can see this is not a sustainable situation, and nearly any man can't gainsay his trying anyway.I think the film suffers from some minor flaws that show up more with repeat viewings. It does move slowly, taking up about thirty minutes to set up the premise everyone will know going in. There are a couple of bookend shots featuring Ricco explaining the situation to a stranger that offer just dead air. The actual ending of the film is facile rather than clever, though not unpleasant.People also complain that "Paradise" has a bit of a body count, and fails as comedy for that. But "Ladykillers" and "Coronets" had even higher body counts, which didn't stop them from being great. "Captain's Paradise" falls a wee bit short of greatness, but it's quite satisfying in the whole of its various parts, especially for those who like their Guinness with a little spice.

Captain St. James (Alec Guiness) is put against a wall to be shot by a firing squad in Morroco. His uncle Lawrence (Miles Malleson) wants to know why (and is very irritating in his delivery) and is told the story by Ricco (Charles Goldner). It's a tale of bigamy - Captain St. James has a wife Maud (Celia Johnson) in Gibralter and a mistress Nita (Yvonne De Carlo) in Morroco and he captains his passenger ship between these two destinations.This film is OK while you're watching it, although it is quite annoying at the beginning when we have to hear "Hello capitane" spoken by everyone that Guiness encounters. He's just so popular and everyone loves him......yuk!....puke!..... If you are an Alec Guiness fan, you will like the film. I think he looks a bit weird and is slightly unconvincing in his role as a wild, dancing party-goer. Celia Johnson is irritating and equally unconvincing as a dancing party-babe. There is a moment where the film could get rather more interesting near the end when the 2 women meet each other not realizing who they are. It fizzles out and there is never any real suspense in the film.The film does have some funny moments - watch how Guiness convinces De Carlo that cooking will destroy her and make her fat and ugly, and there is a nice touch with the photo above his bed on the ship which he can switch between mistress and wife depending on who he is sailing to meet. There is also a funny moment when Goldner is forced to spontaneously play along with the deception when he meets Celia Johnson for the first time and realizes that she is the wife. Apart from that, the film chugs along.However, what exactly is the crime that Guiness is being executed for? We have to assume that he has been caught as a bigamist and this is illegal on penalty of death. The story suddenly stops and the film ends - very poor resolution. The cast somehow all manage to be slightly irritating with the exception of Yvonne De Carlo. This is a vehicle for Alec Guiness to play a scoundrel and the ending is not surprising.

*** This review contains significant spoilers ***This movie was supposed to be funny and we were supposed to enjoy the adventures of Captain St. James, the man who "makes everyone happy." I just couldn't help feeling very annoyed at the bigamous captain and sorry for his unsuspecting wives. The truth was, the only one he was making happy was himself, and he expected his wives to remain exactly the same, with no room for growth or change on their part. I found this infuriating.Was I taking it too seriously? I'm sure I was! But I couldn't help it, I found myself just waiting for the guy's comeuppance. I loved it when the women told them just how unhappy they actually were, but shortly thereafter, one of the wives is murdered -- even this is played for laughs, as our hero uses the confusion surrounding the murder to sneak away.I guess I just don't find bigamy and murder funny. Even less funny is premeditated murder for hire. While I fully expected that the Captain was not actually executed, I found it horrible that the firing squad, instead of firing into the air or at the wall, killed their commander. This isn't emphasized in the film, but the Captain has to step over the commander's body in order to pay off the firing squad. So, having committed one more hideously irresponsible act, our hero goes smirking into the sunset in order to continue deceiving and bribing his way through life.Not my cup of tea.

This film is a treat! It is the tale of an English sea Captain (Alec Guiness) who thinks he has devised the perfect arrangement for paradise. He has a wife in two ports - each one half his idea of the perfect woman. His English wife (Celia Johnson) is the dutiful, domestic wife, whilst his Latin wife (Yvonne De Carlo) provides the excitement which he craves. All three play their roles well - Alec Guinness is a delight to watch, making you root for him and at times losing sympathy for him. The two wives appear to be stereotypical characters - but neither is quite as they seem! The script is witty and perceptive and the plot always engaging. I can recommend setting sail for the Captain's Paradise!