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Laughter in Paradise

Directed by Mario Zampi
Film Movement Classics
1951
93 Minutes
United Kingdom
English
Comedy, Classics
Film Studies
Not Rated
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Famed practical joker Henry Russell leaves 50,000 pounds to each of his four surviving relatives. But his will has one last joke - they each have to undertake a task completely out of character within a month. As each sets out on their objective they find that quite apart from the promised riches, they are unexpectedly getting a lot out of the challenge. All except caddish Simon Russell, that is. Released in 1951, Laughter in Paradise was Britain's top-grossing film. Watch carefully and see a young Audrey Hepburn in a bit part as a cigarette girl. Featuring Alastair Sim.

Cast

  • Alastair Sim
  • Fay Compton
  • Guy Middleton
  • George Cole
  • Hugh Griffith
  • Ernest Thesiger
  • Highest Rating
    "Keen pacing and a fresh, witty script are two of the factors that helped this amusing British comedy become that country's top moneymaker in 1951. "
    TV Guide
  • Highest Rating
    "Films made up of interwoven stories are notoriously difficult to do well, as it's all too easy either to lose the thread of the difficult episodes or to become impatient with the less substantial ones. That director Mario Zampi nearly brings off the trick here is almost entirely down to the fantastic performance of Alastair Sim as the henpecked thriller writer whose inheritance depends on him receiving a 28-day jail sentence. The scene in which he tries to shoplift is one of the funniest in a career overladen with choice comic moments. Sim's is exceptional."
    David Parkinson, Radio Times
  • Highest Rating
    "Producer-director Mario Zampi’s delightful 1951 British comedy is a minor classic, enshrining one of Alastair Sim’s most treasurable performances as a henpecked thriller writer and providing eagerly grabbed showcases for showy turns by some of Britain’s finest comedy players of the era."
    Derek Winnert

Gallery

Awards & Recognition

Official Selection
Venice Film Festival

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