Paradise Lagoon (1957)

In 1905, Lord Henry Loam, his family and his servants are shipwrecked on a deserted island where the survival of the fittest renders the rigid class system irrelevant.

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Vernon Harris (screenplay), J.M. Barrie (play)

Stars:

Kenneth More, Diane Cilento, Cecil Parker

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kenneth More	...	Crichton
Diane Cilento	...	Tweeny
Cecil Parker	...	Lord Loam
Sally Ann Howes	...	Lady Mary
Martita Hunt	...	Lady Brocklehurst
Jack Watling	...	Treherne
Peter Graves	...	Brocklehurst
Gerald Harper	...	Ernest
Mercy Haystead	...	Catherine
Miranda Connell	...	Agatha
Miles Malleson	...	Vicar
Eddie Byrne	...	Captain
Joan Young	...	Mrs. Perkins
Brenda Hogan	...	Fisher
Peter Welch	...	Rolleston

Storyline

Lord Loam has modern ideas about his household; he believes in treating his servants as his equals - at least sometimes. His butler, Crichton, still believes that members of the serving class should know their place and be happy there. But when the Loam family are shipwrecked on a desert island with the self-reliant Crichton and between maid Tweeny, the class system is put to the test.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | class differences | marriage engagement | hairy chest | beach | 

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Taglines:

(as Paradise Lagoon) Shipwrecked in Paradise!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was released in the US as "Paradise Lagoon." The distributors feared that if they used the original J.M. Barrie title the public would think the film was about a naval officer.

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Goofs

When land is first sighted, Tweeny has only one arm on the oar when the binoculars are passed to Crichton. In the next shot, when Crichton is looking through the binoculars, she has both arms on the oar.

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Quotes

Lady Mary: Are you ambitious?
Bill Crichton: Ambitious? For what?
Lady Mary: To better yourself.
Bill Crichton: My lady! I am the son of a butler and a lady's maid. The happiest of all combinations. To me the most beautiful thing in the world is a haughty English aristocratic home with everyone kept in his place.
Lady Mary: That's not how my father would have it.
Bill Crichton: Indeed, he would not, my lady. He would have equality for all. But what good would that do? Any satisfaction I might derive out of being your equal would be ruined by the footman being equal to me.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: LOAM HALL ENGLAND 1905

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Connections

Version of Garakuta (1964)

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Soundtracks

Waltz Sequence
Written by Richard Addinsell (uncredited)
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson

User Reviews

Would you have lighted the beacon....?

Many people criticise J.M. Barrie for being far too whimsical with his stories, but there is nothing wrong with some whimsy now and again - and this is a cracking example. The aristocratic "Loam" family set off on their yacht "the Bluebell" for a cruise around the South seas. A storm forces them to abandon ship and they alight on a beautiful desert island where their established, very formal, order is soon re-evaluated - resulting in a pretty comprehensive role-reversal between their butler "Crichton" (Kenneth More) and the entire family led by "Lord Loam" (Cecil Parker) and his daughters who after initially hoping to hold something of their erstwhile rank all realise that they simply must adapt. It's riddled with strong, engaging performances from Sally Ann Howes as the rather aloof "Lady Mary", a superbly loveable "Tweeny" (Diane Cilento) and Martita Hunt is formidable as the "Countess of Brocklehurst". It does take a very genial swipe at the preposterousness of the landed gentry who couldn't tie their own shoelaces, and also at the ridiculousness of the British class system as it most polarised - but it does it in a gently comedic way, and is really quite effective with that - not so underlying - theme. The direction is well paced and there's even a hint of romance... for everyone! If you like the story - try out Cecil B. de Mille's "Male and Female" (1919), but it's not such fun as this flighty, characterful depiction of a good story.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Paradise Lagoon

Filming Locations:

Westminster Bridge, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Modern Screen Play

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1