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Laughter in Paradise
1951 Comedy
 Review
This delightful Ealing-style comedy brings together some of the
best-loved British actors of the day and is a classic of its
kind. Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell and George Cole, all mainstays
of British film comedy in the 1950s, turn in some fine comedic
performances; they would be reunited a few years later for one of their
biggest successes, The Belles of St.
Trinian’s (1954), and its first sequel. Fay Compton was
more noted for her stage work than her film work and here she gives a
fine character performance, bringing a touching poignancy that nicely
counterbalances the humour supplied by Sim and his fellow mirth
makers. John Laurie plays a cantankerous old Scotsman which is
clearly a forerunner of the character he would portray in the BBC
sitcom Dad’s Army.
And if you pay particular attention you may spot Audrey Hepburn making her
(fleeting) screen debut.
Laughter in Paradise was scripted by Michael Pertwee, brother of the well-known actor Jon, and directed by Mario Zampi, an Italian who appeared to have a keener appreciation of Britishness than most home-grown British directors of the time. With his compatriot Filippo Del Giudice, Zampi had founded Two Cities Films, the company that made such quintessentially British films as In Which We Serve (1942) and Laurence Olivier’s Henry V (1944). Zampi also directed two other notable British comedies, The Naked Truth (1957) and Too Many Crooks (1959). © CinemaForever.com 2009 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Mario Zampi
Starring: Alastair Sim, Fay Compton, Guy Middleton, George Cole, Hugh Griffith Synopsis
When Henry Russell, a renowned practical joker, dies, he leaves his
entire estate to his four surviving relatives. They will each
inherit £50,000, providing they fulfil the terms specified in the
dead man’s will. Deniston Russell, a respectable man who makes a
living by writing penny dreadfuls, is required to commit a crime and
spend a month in jail. The snobbish spinster Agnes Russell must
work as a housemaid. Simon Russell, a womanising playboy, is
given the onerous task of marrying the first single woman he
meets. And timid bank clerk Herbert Russell must hold up the bank
he works with a water pistol. Eager to get their hands on their
inheritance, the four relatives hastily set about the tasks they have
been assigned, unaware that Uncle Henry will have the last laugh...
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