Miranda (1948 film)

Miranda
UK release poster
Directed by	Ken Annakin
Produced by	Betty E. Box
Written by	Peter Blackmore Denis Waldock
Starring	Glynis Johns Googie Withers Griffith Jones Margaret Rutherford
Music by	Temple Abady
Cinematography	Ray Elton Bryan Langley (uncredited)
Editing by	Gordon Hales
Distributed by	General Film Distributors
Release date(s)	April 6, 1948 (1948-04-06)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	UK
Language	English

Miranda is a 1948 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the play of the same name from which the film was adapted. Denis Waldock provided additional dialogue. A light comedy, the film is about a beautiful and playful mermaid played by Glynis Johns and her effect on Griffith Jones. Googie Withers and Margaret Rutherford are also featured in the film.

Johns and Rutherford reprised their roles in the 1954 sequel, Mad About Men.

Cast

• Glynis Johns as Miranda Trewella
• Googie Withers as Clare Martin
• Griffith Jones as Paul Martin
• John McCallum as Nigel
• David Tomlinson as Charles
• Margaret Rutherford as Nurse Carey
• Yvonne Owen as Betty, the Martins' other servant and Charles' girlfriend
• Sonia Holm as Isobel
• Brian Oulton as Manell
• Zena Marshall as Secretary

Plot

With his wife uninterested in fishing, Dr. Paul Martin goes on a holiday on the Cornwall coast alone. There he snags Miranda, a real mermaid, and is pulled into the water. She keeps him prisoner in her underwater cavern and only lets him go after he agrees to show her London. He disguises her as an invalid patient in a wheelchair and takes her to his home for a month-long stay.

Martin’s wife Clare reluctantly agrees to the arrangement, but gets him to hire someone to look after their guest. He selects Nurse Carey for her eccentric nature and takes her into his confidence. To Paul's relief, Carey is delighted to be working for a mermaid.

Miranda’s seductive nature earns her the admiration of not only Paul, but also his chauffeur Charles and Nigel, the fiancé of Clare's friend and neighbour Isobel, arousing the jealousy of the women in their lives. Nigel breaks off his engagement, but when he and Charles discover that Miranda has been flirting with both of them, they come to their senses.

Clare finally figures out what sort of creature Miranda really is. Miranda overhears her telling Paul that the public must be told. She wheels herself down to the river and makes her escape.

In the final scene, Miranda is shown on a rock, holding a little merboy on her lap.

Notes

In the play on which the movie is based, Miranda eventually has to return to Cornwall to spawn, much to the displeasure of Martin’s wife.

References

External links

• Miranda at the Internet Movie Database
• Miranda at the TCM Movie Database
• Miranda at AllRovi