It’s a merry, witty old time as Henry St. James (Alec Guinness) – the captain of the Mediterranean ferry The Golden Fleece – hops from one marital bed to another, from the British colony of Gibraltar to the (fictional) port of Kalik in Tangiers, North Africa.
Henry’s Chief Officer, Ricco (Charles Goldner), tells the tale in a series of flashbacks, explaining how Henry set himself up with opposite-character women in the two ports – a home-loving and demure English housewife, Maud (Celia Johnson), in Gibraltar, and a tempestuous, hot-blooded young wife, Nita (Yvonne De Carlo), in Tangiers
All goes swimmingly until they find out!
When Maud has twin boys, and they are sent to school in England, she starts craving adventure. She wants to dance the rhumba and drink gin. Nita, meanwhile, decides she wants to settle down to domestic bliss and cook for her man.
Henry’s carefully balanced “paradise” begins to unravel spectacularly.
The film was refused approval by the US Production Code on the grounds that it was immoral, as the lead character was a bigamist.
An extra scene was subsequently shot to explain that Henry lived with Nita as a mistress but was married only to Maud – thus allowing the film to be released in America.
The story was later adapted into a 1958 Broadway musical comedy titled Oh, Captain!.
Captain Henry St. James
Alec Guinness Maud St. James
Celia Johnson Nita
Yvonne De Carlo Chief Officer Ricco
Charles Goldner Lawrence St. James
Miles Malleson Susan Daley
Claudia Grey Daphne Bligh
Ann Heffernan Chief Steward
Arthur Gomez Sheikh
Ferdy Mayne Mr Salmon
George Benson Professor Ebbart
Joss Ambler Ali
Sebastian Cabot Absalom
Bill Fraser The Major
Nicholas Phipps Professor Killick
Henry Longhurst Mr Wheeler
Bernard Rebel Marjorie
Ambrosine Phillpotts Bob
Walter Crisham Mrs Reid
Joyce Barbour Kalikan Policeman
Roger Delgado Firing-squad commander
Peter Bull
Director
Anthony Kimmins
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Henry’s carefully balanced “paradise” begins to unravel spectacularly.
