The Amorous Prawn | |
---|---|
Directed by | Anthony Kimmins |
Written by | Anthony Kimmins (play and screenplay) Nicholas Phipps |
Produced by | Leslie Gilliat |
Starring | Ian Carmichael Joan Greenwood Cecil Parker |
Cinematography | Wilkie Cooper |
Edited by | Thelma Connell |
Music by | John Barry |
Production company | Covent Garden Films |
Distributed by | British Lion Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Amorous Prawn, also known as The Amorous Mr. Prawn, is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker. [1] The film was based on a 1959 farcical play by Kimmins. [2]
In the United States the film was retitled The Playgirl and the War Minister to exploit the Profumo affair. [3]
General Fitzadam receives his final posting in the remote Scottish Highlands. When the General and his wife discover that they cannot afford the country cottage where they plan to retire, his wife decides to run their residence as a hotel for wealthy Americans using the services of soldiers and an expert poacher.
The original play had run for over 900 performances in the West End. [4] [5]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A pair of amorous prawns and their progeny processing behind the credit titles set the note of good, clean fun on which this inoffensive farce means to continue. In spite of a hoary formula and a slow start, the film has its amusing moments. The settings are easy on the eye, and some of the acting, especially Cecil Parker's suddenly benign air of conspiracy and Liz Fraser's imbecilic giggle, has charm. The climax, effectively tying up more loose ends than previously seemed to exist, is a glorious romp." [6]
Variety called the film "non-demanding light entertainment, cheerfully put over by a reliable cast of popular British thesps." [7]
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Ian Gillett Carmichael, was an English actor who worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career that spanned seventy years. Born in Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but his studies—and the early stages of his career—were curtailed by the Second World War. After his demobilisation he returned to acting and found success, initially in revue and sketch productions.
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