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Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Admirable Crichton (aka Paradise Lagoon) (1957)

In 1902, a yacht of British aristocrats and their two servants vacationing in the South Seas runs afoul of a storm and they must abandon ship. Eventually, they are marooned on an uninhabited desert island and it's the butler (Kenneth More) who has the ability and the fortitude to take over and save them from starvation. In the two years they are on the island, the class system is reversed with the butler the leader and aristocrats the workers. J.M. Barrie's satirical comedy of manners on the English class system is both amusing and poignant and director Lewis Gilbert (ALFIE) handles the balance artfully. What seems like a Utopia on the island is just another class system and when/if they are rescued, will they have learned anything or will they retreat to their established positions? The Bermuda locations are indeed a paradise and lovingly photographed by Wilkie Cooper (JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS). With Diane Cilento, Sally Ann Howes, Cecil Parker and Martita Hunt. Previously filmed in 1919 by Cecil B. DeMille under the title MALE AND FEMALE.

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