bigverybadtom A man in a North African city is taken before a firing squad. On the ship "Golden Fleece", docked at the port, the ship's crew are grimly waiting as a civilian pushes his way in. The man is the captain's uncle, and the ship's first mate (I assume) tells the man that the man being executed is the ship's captain, and the uncle asks why, so the first mate explains.The Golden Fleece is a ferry ship regularly sailing between Gibraltar and this North African city, and its captain was married to two wives: one in the city who is a dancer who always has fun, goes dancing, and eats out all the time, and a British wife in Gibraltar who is a dutiful housewife who stays at home and does domestic chores. The captain had the two wives with the idea that he could enjoy the characteristics of both kinds in each of his homes. The wives do not know of each other, and the captain gives presents to each of his wives to suit their respective lifestyles. Then one day, the captain mixes up the presents and the party girl wife gets an apron while the housewife gets a swimsuit. Then things start falling apart.The movie begins with a light, farcical tone, but as it goes on, the mood darkens as the wives become dissatisfied with their respective marriages and the captain tries and fails to keep them in the roles he wants them to play-and becomes truly dark as we find that this supposedly charming and genial captain really is not.Not recommended if you want a happy movie.

John T. Ryan HAVING an uncanny ability to get so immersed in any role he took as to seemingly disappear in the film; Alec Guiness bids fair to demonstrate the really great range that he possessed, be it on stage or in front of the camera. Whenever the future Sir Alec is on the screen, he commands one's undivided attention.IN today's honoree film, THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE (London Films/British Lion Film Corporation, 1953), he is the Captain in the title. He runs a ferry boat service that runs between Spanish Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, running to Gibraltar and back. As Captain Henry St. James, he is a very respected citizen on both sides of the run. No one, not even his Chief Officer Ricco (Charles Goldner) suspect him to be anything other than what his chosen outward appearance showed the world.THE STORY begins at the end and uses the narration of the Chief Officer in telling the story; kind of the same way that Mr. Orson Welles did with CITIZEN KANE (Mercury Theatre Production, RKO Radio Pictures, 1949). As the story unfolds we learn that the good Captain is indeed a much busier guy than his very proper, cultured demeanor would reveal.ALL that we'll say here is that he is very busy guy on both ends of his route. All of the great comic sequences come from the mixing of the two worlds; and that starts to happen about a third of the way through the movie.ONCE again, a well cast team of supporting players rise to the occasion in making the approximately 97 minutes seemingly fly by. The cast includes Yvonne DeCarlo, Celia Johnson, Charles Goldner and a young Sebastian Cabot.ADDITIONAL to the studio filmed scenes, extensive location shooting was done in The British Colony of Gibraltar; which makes for as authentic a backdrop as could be found. Fine use of Black & White Film is in evidence; which also gives an appearance of being real life scenes from a newsreel.AS an overview of THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE and an objective review; we can only say good things about it. There seems to be no point that one could point to as being an obvious weakness.ONE couldn't say too much in its favour.SO, whatta ya think, Schultz? How's about a **** rating.POODLE SCHNITZ!!

Jay Harris The Captains Paradise is a charming delightful comedy.Alec Guiness is wonderful as always, this time as a ferry-boat Captain, ferrying between Gibralter & Morrocco,(Kalik in film). he happens to have a wife in Gibralter (Celia Johnson) & a lover in Morrocco (Yvonne deCarlo). Censors at the time did not allow him to have 2 wives at same time. It would be a spoiler to tell you more. This was filmed on location (filming on actual sites was still somewhat of a rarity in 1953. Gibralter & Tangier were very picturesque & it did add to the enjoyment.The running time is only 86 minutes which is perfect timing for this type comedy. If this was made today, they would drag it out to near the 2 hour mark.Rating *** (out of 4) points 88 (out of 100) IMDb 8 (out of 10)

LDRose This film is a treat! It is the tale of an English sea Captain (Alec Guiness) who thinks he has devised the perfect arrangement for paradise. He has a wife in two ports - each one half his idea of the perfect woman. His English wife (Celia Johnson) is the dutiful, domestic wife, whilst his Latin wife (Yvonne De Carlo) provides the excitement which he craves. All three play their roles well - Alec Guinness is a delight to watch, making you root for him and at times losing sympathy for him. The two wives appear to be stereotypical characters - but neither is quite as they seem! The script is witty and perceptive and the plot always engaging. I can recommend setting sail for the Captain's Paradise!