I found myself thinking about "The Admirable Crichton" (aka "Paradise Lagoon") for days after I saw it. I think this is due primarily to the exceptionally tender scenes of romance and affection sprinkled very lightly throughout the film. Kenneth More, as the butler, is a very attractive character: he can be gentle, sometimes slightly rude or standoffish, but never to be mean: he always has everyone else's best interests at heart. The early scene in which he kisses the admiring housemaid Eliza on the yacht is adorably played: not predictably mushy, but rather with a lovely mix of British stiff upper lip and tenderness.
The movie is especially satisfying in the ending (Super Spoiler Alert). Having been returned to civilization, only Sally Ann Howes' Lady Mary wishes that their lives could continue on the same projectory as when they were all still shipwrecked; that is, she still wants to marry More's butler Crichton! At first, More keeps his emotional distance from Lady Mary, acting overly formally in her presence, like in the old days. But the director made a wonderful decision to let the two characters meet in private one last time, to share a deep-felt goodbye hug, as More one last time reminds Lady Mary that their relationship is impossible. She understands, and with this closure is ready to move on. Beautifully done, indeed, and super-satisfying.
In sum, all the cast is spectacular, the constant irony in the film fantastic, the British wit superb, and the characters well delineated.
And finally, we now know where the inspiration for Gilligan's Island must have come from. Such wacky inventions the castaways came up with on the island, I always thought, could only come from the mind of Russell Johnson's "Professor"; but now I know that the butler Bill Crighton was the first to invent a phonograph powered by a water wheel, and a razor made from sharpened clam shells.
Don't miss it.
The movie is especially satisfying in the ending (Super Spoiler Alert). Having been returned to civilization, only Sally Ann Howes' Lady Mary wishes that their lives could continue on the same projectory as when they were all still shipwrecked; that is, she still wants to marry More's butler Crichton! At first, More keeps his emotional distance from Lady Mary, acting overly formally in her presence, like in the old days. But the director made a wonderful decision to let the two characters meet in private one last time, to share a deep-felt goodbye hug, as More one last time reminds Lady Mary that their relationship is impossible. She understands, and with this closure is ready to move on. Beautifully done, indeed, and super-satisfying.
In sum, all the cast is spectacular, the constant irony in the film fantastic, the British wit superb, and the characters well delineated.
And finally, we now know where the inspiration for Gilligan's Island must have come from. Such wacky inventions the castaways came up with on the island, I always thought, could only come from the mind of Russell Johnson's "Professor"; but now I know that the butler Bill Crighton was the first to invent a phonograph powered by a water wheel, and a razor made from sharpened clam shells.
Don't miss it.