Mad About Men

Mad About Men is a 1954 Technicolor British comedy film. It was directed by Ralph Thomas and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the 1948 film Miranda which preceded Mad About Men. Glynis Johns appears in both films as the mermaid Miranda.[1] However, Rank Films insisted it was not a sequel.[2]

Mad About Men
Directed byRalph Thomas
Produced byBetty E. Box
Earl St. John (executive)
Written byPeter Blackmore
Screenplay byPeter Blackmore
StarringGlynis Johns
Donald Sinden
Anne Crawford
Margaret Rutherford
Music byBenjamin Frankel
Ronald Hanmer
CinematographyErnest Steward
Edited byGerald Thomas
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors
Release date
  • 16 November 1954 (1954-11-16)
Running time
90 min
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Mad About Men was filmed in Polperro, Cornwall and Long Crendon, Oxfordshire.[3]

Plot

When gymnastics school teacher Caroline goes on holiday at her family's home in Cornwall, she meets her distant mermaid relative Miranda, who looks exactly like her. She agrees to let Miranda trade places with her, while she goes on a bicycling trip with a friend. Caroline feigns an accident, which leaves her confined to a wheelchair for a few weeks and gets nurse Carey to attend to Miranda. This conceals the fact that Miranda has a fish tail instead of legs.

Caroline is engaged to Ronald Baker, but when he shows up, Miranda does not like him at all. She decides to make Caroline a better match. She flirts outrageously with two eligible bachelors, Jeff Saunders and Colonel Barclay Sutton, right in front of Ronald. When she discovers that Ronald works in the government sanitation department (and approves of dumping garbage into the ocean), she dumps a tureen of cold soup on his head.

Meanwhile, Barbara Davenport, the colonel's fiancée, takes an understandable dislike to Miranda. While out swimming, she discovers Miranda's secret and arranges for "Caroline" to sing at a charity concert, plotting to reveal her true nature. Caroline reads about the forthcoming concert during her holiday, guesses what Barbara intends, and rushes back to take Miranda's place, foiling Barbara's scheme.

Afterward, Jeff takes Caroline boating. When he tries to kiss her, she resists at first, then willingly gives in, while a somewhat sad Miranda watches.

Cast

Critical reception

Radio Times called the film "outdated hokum, a cliché-ridden story...this is certainly not the equal of the charming original."[4]

AllMovie praised it as a "delightful sequel to the saucy British comedy-fantasy Miranda."[5]

References

  1. "Mad about Men (1954) | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  2. "SPOTLIGHT ON THE STARS". Western Mail. 69 (3, 368). Western Australia. 20 May 1954. p. 28. Retrieved 31 August 2017 via National Library of Australia.
  3. A Touch Of The Memoirs by Donald Sinden. Hodder & Stoughton Publ. (1982), pp. 203-4
  4. "Mad about Men | Film review and movie reviews". Radio Times. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  5. "Mad About Men (1954) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
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