Laughter in Paradise (1951)

When a millionaire practical joker dies, he divides his fortune among four heirs who must carry out his zany instructions to cash in.

Director:

Mario Zampi

Writers:

Michael Pertwee (original story), Jack Davies (original story)

Stars:

Alastair Sim, Fay Compton, Guy Middleton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alastair Sim	...	Deniston Russell
Fay Compton	...	Agnes Russell
Guy Middleton	...	Simon Russell
George Cole	...	Herbert Russell
Hugh Griffith	...	Henry Augustus Russell
Ernest Thesiger	...	Endicott
Beatrice Campbell	...	Lucille Grayson
Mackenzie Ward	...	Benson
A.E. Matthews	...	Sir Charles Robson
Joyce Grenfell	...	Elizabeth Robson aka Fluffy
Eleanor Summerfield	...	Sheila Wilcott
John Laurie	...	Gordon Webb
Veronica Hurst	...	Joan Webb
Anthony Steel	...	Roger Godfrey
Charlotte Mitchell	...	Ethel

Storyline

Famed practical joker Henry Russell leaves 50,000 pounds to each of his four surviving relatives. But his will has one last joke - they each have to undertake a task completely out of character within a month. As each sets out on their objective they find that quite apart from the promised riches, they are unexpectedly getting a lot out of the challenge. All except caddish Simon Russell, that is.

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Plot Keywords:

practical joker | out of character | relative | instruction | millionaire | 

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Taglines:

He sets the whole world laughing ... there's even Laughter in Paradise !

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gelächter im Paradies

Filming Locations:

Associated British Studios, Elstree, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC),Mario Zampi Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Laurie replaced Stanley Holloway.

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Goofs

When Deniston Russell visits the police station for the second time, he addresses the officer on duty as Inspector. However, the man has three arrow-shaped stripes on his shoulder, which clearly marks him as a Sergeant. Even if he didn't know the difference, one would expect the police officer to correct him.

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Quotes

Deniston Russell: [Dictates an opening scene of a new crime novel to Sheila Wilcott] I walked over and slugged her in the kisser... She certainly was a swell tomato.

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Connections

Referenced in Wogan: The Best Of: Oscar Winners (2015)

User Reviews

British Comedy at its best

This is a most excellent example of the comic talents of Alistair Sim. His bungling attempts to get himself arrested had me in stitches. Particularly trying to get the store detective, or indeed anyone, to notice he was trying his hand at shoplifting. And of course finding a crime that would only get him the 30 days in jail as stipulated in the will.

As someone else has mentioned he did have all the best lines, but the remainder of the cast did a great job, the mild mannered clerk who had to rob the bank where he worked, the overbearing snob who had to be a maid, the womaniser who had to marry the first woman he spoke to, all made for the usual mix of farce and comedy.

It was also notable for an early appearance of Audrey Hepburn as the cigarette girl.