Mediterranean ferryboat captain Henry St James has things well organised - a loving and very English wife Maud in Gibraltar, and the loving if rather more hot-blooded Nita in Tangiers. A perfect life. As long as neither woman decides to follow him to the other port.


viewer's comments:

- Alec Guinness made a few silly comedies and "The Captain's Paradise" is the best. Mr. Guinness portrays an international naval captain who is married to two different women at the same time: Celia Johnson as your average housewife and Yvonne De Carlo as your average sexpot. The captain believes he has the perfect life with each wife until he finds out that he doesn't.

It is an adorable movie. Very funny! It read Mr. Guinness enjoyed working with Ms. De Carlo, whom he respected. She taught him to tango for their dancing scenes. This is Ms. De Carlo's best role. Also, this movie gives Ms. Johnson a chance to be funny. She usually is sad in her early movies.



- Alec Guinness Does the Bolero!
One of the more modest comic efforts done during his Ealing Studios period, it features a side of Guinness that his fans have never seen. Dancing the bolero with Yvonne DeCarlo in a North African nightclub, he displays such amazing footwork that it's hard to believe that he didn't have a stunt double. He didn't. This film is a small delight for true Guinness aficianados and well worth the price of a video rental



- A true comic delight....
It is difficult to choose among the many comic films put out by the Ealing Studios in the 50's & 60's, but The Captain's Paradise ranks right up there. Alec Guinness is at the top of his comic form as the smug Captain Saint James, whose deviously constructed 'paradise' comes crashing down around him. The story, like all the best comedies, is really a morality tale, with the captain getting his comeuppance, but, in the end, still foxily escaping final judgement. A sparklingly witty script and fine ensemble acting make this one a must-see for devotees of British comedy. I never tire of watching this one.


- Delightfully sly British comedy
Ship's captain Alec Guinness seems to have a dull life, he's had the same job for years, taking his ship back and forth between Gibraltar and Morocco. Little does anyone know, that the Captain has worked out his idea of a paradise, he has a wife at either end of the line! In British Gibraltar Cecia Johnson gives him all the comforts of domesticity and respectability, and in Morocco sexy Yvonne DeCarlo gives him... you know. Of course, such a life is doomed to complications, and thereby hangs the plot of the film.

A subtly wicked comedy, a lesser "Kind Hearts and Coronets".

Never really belly-laugh funny, but highly witty and great fun. And I love the ending, it's perfect.



cast: Alec Guinness .... Captain Henry St. James
Yvonne De Carlo .... Nita St. James
Celia Johnson .... Maud St. James
Charles Goldner .... Chief Officer Ricco
Miles Malleson .... Lawrence St. James
Walter Crisham .... Bob
Nicholas Phipps .... The Major
Bill Fraser .... Absalom, Taxi Driver
Ferdy Mayne .... The Sheikh
Sebastian Cabot .... Ali, Vendor.

Runtime: 85 min
Country: UK
Language: English
Black and White