Once Upon a Dream (1949 film)

Last updated

Once Upon a Dream
Once Upon a Dream (1949 film).jpg
Directed by Ralph Thomas
Screenplay by Patrick Kirwan
Victor Katona
Story by Val Guest
Produced by Antony Darnborough
Sydney Box
Starring Googie Withers
Griffith Jones
Guy Middleton
Cinematography Jack E. Cox
Edited by Jean Barker
Music by Arthur Wilkinson
Production
company
Distributed by General Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • February 1949 (1949-02)(UK)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Once Upon a Dream is a 1949 British comedy romance film directed by Ralph Thomas in his debut and starring Googie Withers, Griffith Jones, and Guy Middleton. [1] It was a J. Arthur Rank presentation and a Sydney Box production, and was released through General Film Distributors Ltd. The film was made at the Lime Grove Studios with sets designed by the art director Cedric Dawe.

Contents

Plot

Just after World War II, former army officer Major Gilbert returns home, shortly after his service batman, Jackson, whom he has taken on as his butler. The major's wife, Carol, is offended that her husband pays her little attention before going off to bed, saying he is exhausted after his journey. That night, she has a romantic dream about Jackson and as a result of a coincidence of events as she wakes up, she believes it actually happened and becomes indignant when Jackson does not act accordingly. Meanwhile, Carol's shop is in financial difficulties, and she needs help from the major's rich aunt with whom she cannot get along.

Cast

Production

Margaret Lockwood refused to do the film and was put on suspension by Rank. [2] She said when she read the script - then called Roses for Her Pillow - "as I reached the last page I hurled the manuscript across the room. I had never been so angry." She complained to her agent "how dare they offer me a part like that... It's no more than that of a stooge." Her agent tried to see if they could improve it but Lockwood said "I would not listen. This time no one was going to make me change my mind. I did not care what anyone said. I was sick of getting mediocre parts and poor scripts." [3]

Ralph Thomas was head of the trailer department for the Rank Film Organisation. He had made a number of trailers for producer Sydney Box, including one for the film Miranda (1948) which Box liked. "He was particularly taken with it," said Thomas. When the original director for Once Upon a Dream fell ill, Box offered Thomas the chance to direct. It was on this film that Thomas met Box's sister Betty, who would go on to make over 20 films with Thomas. [4]

Reception

By 1953 the film earned a net revenue of £79,000. [5]

Allmovie noted, "More silly than funny, Once Upon a Dream is kept alive by the enthusiastic performances of its leading players." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Miranda</i> (1948 film) 1948 British film

Miranda is a 1948 black and white 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. The film stars Glynis Johns, Googie Withers, Griffith Jones, Margaret Rutherford, John McCallum and David Tomlinson. Denis Waldock provided additional dialogue. Music for the film was played by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Muir Mathieson. The sound director was B. C. Sewell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Lockwood</span> British stage and film actress

Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE, was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included The Lady Vanishes (1938), Night Train to Munich (1940), The Man in Grey (1943), and The Wicked Lady (1945). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1955 film Cast a Dark Shadow. She also starred in the television series Justice (1971–74).

<i>The Wicked Lady</i> 1945 film

The Wicked Lady is a 1945 British costume drama film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Margaret Lockwood in the title role as a nobleman's wife who becomes a highwaywoman for the excitement. The film had one of the largest audiences for a film of its period, 18.4 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Googie Withers</span> British actress and entertainer

Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers, CBE, AO was an English entertainer. She was a dancer and actress, with a lengthy career spanning some nine decades in theatre, film, and television. She was a well-known actress and star of British films during and after World War II.

<i>The Iron Petticoat</i> 1956 film by Ralph Thomas

The Iron Petticoat is a 1956 British Cold War comedy film starring Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn, and directed by Ralph Thomas. The screenplay by Ben Hecht became the focus of a contentious history behind the production, and led to the film's eventual suppression by Hope. Hecht had been part of the screenwriting team on the similarly themed Comrade X (1940).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griffith Jones (actor)</span> English actor (1909–2007)

Griffith Jones was an English film, stage and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McCallum (actor)</span> Australian Actor

John Neil McCallum, was an Australian theatre and film actor, highly successful in the United Kingdom. He was also a television producer.

<i>Travellers Joy</i> 1950 British film

Traveller's Joy is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Googie Withers, John McCallum and Maurice Denham. Based on a West End play of the same name by Arthur Macrae, it was the last film released by the original Gainsborough Pictures.

Cast a Dark Shadow is a 1955 black-and-white British suspense film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by John Cresswell, based on the 1952 play Murder Mistaken by Janet Green. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh, Kathleen Harrison and Robert Flemyng. The story concerns a husband played by Dirk Bogarde who murders his wife. The film was distributed by Eros Films Ltd. in the United Kingdom and Distributors Corporation of America in the United States.

The 14th National Board of Review Awards were announced on 24 December 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Thomas</span> English film director (1915–2001)

Ralph Philip Thomas MC was an English film director. He is perhaps best remembered for directing the Doctor series of films.

<i>Country Life</i> (film) 1994 Australian film

Country Life is a 1994 Australian drama film, adapted from the 1899 play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov. The film was directed by Michael Blakemore. The cast includes Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi, John Hargreaves and Googie Withers. It was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival.

<i>The Man in Grey</i> 1943 film by Leslie Arliss

The Man in Grey is a 1943 British film melodrama made by Gainsborough Pictures; it is considered to be the first of a series of period costume dramas now known as the "Gainsborough melodramas". It was directed by Leslie Arliss and produced by Edward Black from a screenplay by Arliss and Margaret Kennedy that was adapted by Doreen Montgomery from the 1941 novel The Man in Grey by Eleanor Smith. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Roc</span> British actress

Patricia Roc was an English film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945) and The Wicked Lady (1945), though she only made one film in Hollywood, Canyon Passage (1946). She also appeared in Millions Like Us (1943), Jassy (1945), The Brothers (1947) and When the Bough Breaks (1947).

<i>Pink String and Sealing Wax</i> 1945 film by Robert Hamer

Pink String and Sealing Wax is a 1945 British drama film directed by Robert Hamer and starring Mervyn Johns. It is based on a play with the same name by Roland Pertwee. It was the first feature film Robert Hamer directed on his own.

<i>The Loves of Joanna Godden</i> 1947 British film

The Loves of Joanna Godden is a 1947 British historical drama film directed by Charles Frend and produced by Michael Balcon. The screenplay was written by H. E. Bates and Angus MacPhail from the novel Joanna Godden (1921) by Sheila Kaye-Smith.

<i>The White Unicorn</i> 1947 British film

The White Unicorn is a 1947 British drama film directed by Bernard Knowles and starring Margaret Lockwood, Joan Greenwood, Ian Hunter and Dennis Price. Kyra Vayne appeared as the singer. It was made at Walton Studios by the independent producer John Corfield, and released by General Film Distributors. The film's sets were designed by Norman G. Arnold. It was also known as Milkwhite Unicorn and Bad Sister.

<i>White Corridors</i> 1951 British film

White Corridors is a 1951 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson and starring Googie Withers, Godfrey Tearle, James Donald and Petula Clark. It is based on a novel by Helen Ashton. The film is set in a hospital shortly after the establishment of the National Health Service.

<i>Bedelia</i> (film) 1946 film

Bedelia is a 1946 British melodrama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter and Barry K. Barnes. It is an adaptation of the 1945 novel Bedelia by Vera Caspary with events relocated from the United States to Monaco and England.

<i>Youre the Doctor</i> 1938 British film

You're the Doctor is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Roy Lockwood and starring Barry K. Barnes, Googie Withers and Norma Varden. The screenplay concerns a young woman who pretends to be ill to avoid going on a cruise with her parents, which leads to a series of confusions.

References

  1. "Once upon a Dream (1948)". Archived from the original on 4 February 2017.
  2. Vagg, Stephen (29 January 2020). "Why Stars Stop Being Stars: Margaret Lockwood". Filmink.
  3. Lockwood, Margaret (1955). Lucky Star: The Autobiography of Margaret Lockwood. Odhams Press Limited. p. 134.
  4. Collected Interviews: Voices from Twentieth-century Cinema by Wheeler W. Dixon, SIU Press, 2001 p109
  5. Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 211
  6. "Once Upon a Dream (1949) - Ralph Thomas - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie".