- The Demi-Paradise
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The Demi-Paradise Directed by Anthony Asquith Produced by Filippo Del Giudice
Anatole de GrunwaldWritten by Anatole de Grunwald Starring Laurence Olivier
Margaret RutherfordMusic by Nicholas Brodszky Cinematography Bernard Knowles Distributed by Two Cities Films Release date(s) 20 December 1943 (UK) Running time 114 minutes Country United Kingdom Language English The Demi-Paradise (also known as Adventure for Two) is a 1943 comedy film made by Two Cities Films and distributed in the U.S. by Universal Pictures. It starred Laurence Olivier as a Soviet inventor who travels to England to have his revolutionary propeller manufactured, and Penelope Dudley Ward as the woman who falls in love with him. It was directed by Anthony Asquith and produced by Anatole de Grunwald and Filippo Del Giudice from a screenplay by de Grunwald. The music score was by Nicholas Brodszky and the cinematography by Bernard Knowles.
The film is a gentle satire on the values the English hold so dear. It was designed to encourage sympathy between Britain and the Soviet Union. The film's title is a reference to John of Gaunt's famous speech in Richard II which begins:
- This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
- This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
- This other Eden, demi-paradise
Cast
- Laurence Olivier as Ivan Kouznetsoff
- Penelope Dudley-Ward as Ann (as Penelope Ward)
- Marjorie Fielding as Mrs. Tisdall
- Margaret Rutherford as Rowena Ventnor
- Felix Aylmer as Mr. Runalow, a noted expert in naval engineering, head of the firm Kouznetsoff deals with, and Ann's grandfather
- George Thorpe as Herbert Tisdall
- Leslie Henson as Himself
- Guy Middleton as Dick Christian
- Michael Shepley as Mr. Walford
- Edie Martin as Miss Winifred Tisdall
- Muriel Aked as Mrs. Tisdall-Stanton
- Joyce Grenfell as Sybil Paulson
- Everley Gregg as Mrs. Flannel
- Jack Watling as Tom
- David Keir as Jordan
- Aubrey Mallalieu as Toomes
- Beatrice Harrison as herself
Miles Malleson, John Laurie, George Cole, and Wilfrid Hyde-White had minor roles.
External links
The films of Anthony Asquith 1920s Shooting Stars • Underground • The Runaway Princess • A Cottage on Dartmoor1930s Tell England • The Lucky Number • Dance Pretty Lady • Unfinished Symphony • Moscow Nights • Pygmalion1940s French Without Tears • Freedom Radio • Quiet Wedding • Cottage to Let • Uncensored • We Dive at Dawn • The Demi-Paradise • Fanny by Gaslight • The Way to the Stars • While the Sun Shines • The Winslow Boy1950s The Woman in Question • The Browning Version • The Importance of Being Earnest • The Final Test • The Net • The Young Lovers • Carrington V.C. • On Such a Night • Orders to Kill • The Doctor's Dilemma • Libel1960s Short films Categories:- English-language films
- 1943 films
- 1940s romantic comedy films
- Black-and-white films
- British films
- Films directed by Anthony Asquith
- Satirical films
- Universal Pictures films
- Titles derived from the works of William Shakespeare
- Romantic comedy film stubs
- 1940s comedy film stubs
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