THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE

UK, 1953, 83 minutes, Black and White.
Alec Guinness, Yvonne de Carlo, Celia Johnson, Miles Malleson.
Directed by Anthony Kimmins.

The Captain's Paradise is one of those short, but excellent, British comedies of the early 50's in which Alec Guinness delighted world audiences and gained an outstanding reputation as a comedian.

Here the comedy treats pleasantly the theme of man's search for perfect happiness and the two sides of his nature, conventional and unconventional. The story of a captain plying between British Gibraltar and exotic Algiers with a typical wife in each port is a good setting. However, the wives are shown as reflecting the two aspects and there is clever cross-cutting as Maud becomes more lively and Nina tries to be more domesticated. Celia Johnson and Yvonne de Carlo enjoy their portrayals of the typical but changing wives.

A sophisticated and witty little pointed comedy.

1. Was this a good humorous comedy? Did it provide many laughs? How?

2. How effective was the rather precise structure of the film - the flashbacks and return to the narrative of Rico and the Captain's uncle, the paralleling and contrasting of Gibraltar life with Algerian life, the contrasts with the wives and the final revelation that the Captain did not die?

3. Although the treatment was light, there was a satirical message in it and a lot of observation of human behaviour and human yearnings for happiness. What was the theme of the film?

4. What was Captain St James seeking? How close did he come to happiness?

5. How did Alec Guinness make his character interesting and entertaining? what devices were used to contrast his attitudes and behaviour in his two different worlds - his clothes for shore, his going home, arriving (and whistle), eating habits, dancing etc?

6. The wives contrasted obviously, each representing the typical Englishwoman or Algerian woman. How did they gradually change and why did the Captain not realise this? (How did this show that he was really selfish?)

7. How was Maud's visit to Algeria an important development in the film? What was the effect of the situation comedy, the meeting of the two wives?

8. How did each wife get exasperated over the years? Why?

9. Comment on Nina's meal sequence and Maud's night out.

10. Why did each wife want to leave the Captain? Were they right?

11. What do you think happened to the Captain eventually?

12. What did the film have to say about human nature and human limitations?