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IMDbPro

The Captain's Paradise

  • 1953
  • Approved
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo, and Celia Johnson in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
The Captain of a ferry boat between the restricted British colony in Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco has a woman of differing appeal and temperament in each port.
Play trailer2:06
1 Video
21 Photos
ComedyRomance

The captain of a ferry boat between the restricted British colony in Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco has a woman of differing appeal and temperament in each port.The captain of a ferry boat between the restricted British colony in Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco has a woman of differing appeal and temperament in each port.The captain of a ferry boat between the restricted British colony in Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco has a woman of differing appeal and temperament in each port.

  • Director
    • Anthony Kimmins
  • Writers
    • Alec Coppel
    • Nicholas Phipps
  • Stars
    • Alec Guinness
    • Peter Bull
    • Charles Goldner
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    1.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Anthony Kimmins
    • Writers
      • Alec Coppel
      • Nicholas Phipps
    • Stars
      • Alec Guinness
      • Peter Bull
      • Charles Goldner
    • 39User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:06
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos21

    Alec Guinness and Charles Goldner in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Alec Guinness and Celia Johnson in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Alec Guinness and Yvonne De Carlo in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Alec Guinness and Yvonne De Carlo in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Alec Guinness and Yvonne De Carlo in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Yvonne De Carlo in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Yvonne De Carlo and Celia Johnson in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Alec Guinness and Yvonne De Carlo in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Alec Guinness in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Alec Guinness in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Nicholas Phipps in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
    Alec Guinness and Yvonne De Carlo in The Captain's Paradise (1953)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Alec Guinness
    Alec Guinness
    • Captain Henry St. James
    Peter Bull
    Peter Bull
    • Kalikan Officer
    Charles Goldner
    Charles Goldner
    • Ricco
    Miles Malleson
    Miles Malleson
    • Lawrence St. James
    Claudia Grey
    • Susan Daley
    Ann Heffernan
    • Daphne Bligh
    Arthur Gomez
    • Chief Steward
    Ferdy Mayne
    Ferdy Mayne
    • The Sheikh
    George Benson
    • Mr. Salmon
    Joss Ambler
    Joss Ambler
    • Professor Ebbart
    Victor Fairley
    • 1st Customs Official
    Michael Balfour
    Michael Balfour
    • 2nd Customs Official
    Robert Adair
    • 3rd Customs Official
    Sebastian Cabot
    Sebastian Cabot
    • Ali
    Bill Fraser
    • Absalom
    Jacinta Dicks
    • Flower Seller
    Yvonne De Carlo
    Yvonne De Carlo
    • Nita
    Alejandro Martínez
    • Guitarist
    • (as Alejandro Martinez)
    • Director
      • Anthony Kimmins
    • Writers
      • Alec Coppel
      • Nicholas Phipps
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Professional dancer Yvonne De Carlo persuaded director Anthony Kimmins to talk Sir Alec Guinness into doing the mambo with her in a night club sequence. Guinness, not usually thought of as a physical actor, consented to a week's worth of dance lessons from De Carlo and the sequence is one of this movie's highlights.
    • Goofs
      The shots of the ship at night are obviously of a model, as can be seen by the movement of the sea at the bow.
    • Quotes

      Maud St. James: I'm 37, Henry, and I think it's time I started to live. I realize that I've missed a great many things, and I want to get them before it's too late. I want to stay up late before it's too late for me to stay up late.

    • Alternate versions
      Some prints of "The Captain's Paradise" run 77 minutes.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Clock (2010)

    User reviews39

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A element of paradise not to be overlooked
    News today of the recent death of Yvonnne De Carlo brings this movie back into my mind. I saw it during a period of my life when I had for several years had few opportunities to go to the movies. I had been a student priest in Rome and movie houses were off limits for us. Away on summer holidays in 1953, I caught up with the movie at a cinema in Vienna that was showing English language movies for the benefit of the English military personnel, part of the post World War II occupation force in the Austrian capital. I was allowed to sneak in.

    But quite apart from the fact that it was a welcome interlude in a period of drought in my movie watching life, the movie remains in my memory as one of the cleverest comedies I have seen. Not side splitting, it is true. But excellent English wit. And the final scene is unforgettable.

    The movies is entitled "The captain's paradise" Reading the IMDb user's comments, I see they correctly note two reasons why the ship captain's life style was a paradise. His homely English wife in Gibraltar and his party going Spanish wife in North Africa. But there was a third element that none of them seem to note as a factor in the captain's happy situation. At sea, at meal times women are rigidly excluded from the captain's table. Those seated with the captain are diplomats, explorers, scientists and suchlike. All of them males. The third paradise element in the captain's life is the enjoyment of male company and conversation at meals. This link with the film's title needs to be remembered. No wonder the script received an Oscar nomination.

    There is one aspect of the movie on which I would like another viewer to enlighten me. How did Yvonne De Carlo come to be in this very English movie ? Today after hearing word of her death I looked in IMDb at her listed appearances. From being Moses' wife in Ten Commandments to being the mother in The Munsters, pretty well every role seems to be in a United States production. How did she find her place in a Ealing comedy? But at least it was a most welcome appearance and I am glad she hopped the Atlantic for this one.
    helpful•23
    2
    • holy1
    • Jan 19, 2007

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 28, 1953 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • Der Schlüssel zum Paradies
    • Filming locations
      • Gibraltar
    • Production company
      • London Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 34 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo, and Celia Johnson in The Captain's Paradise (1953)
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