Newly arrived Army chaplin Captain Paris (Alastair Sim) attempts to book various acts for the entertainment of a troop of soldiers.Newly arrived Army chaplin Captain Paris (Alastair Sim) attempts to book various acts for the entertainment of a troop of soldiers.Newly arrived Army chaplin Captain Paris (Alastair Sim) attempts to book various acts for the entertainment of a troop of soldiers.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 nomination total
Chris Adcock
- Soldier in Audience
- (uncredited)
William Baskiville
- Soldier in Audience
- (uncredited)
Martin Boddey
- Visiting Brigadier
- (uncredited)
Maria Charles
- WRAC
- (uncredited)
George Cole
- Soldier in Brains Trust audience
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe title comes from Thomas Gray's poem "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College" (1768). The actual lines (the last two lines of the poem) are ".... Where ignorance is bliss, /'Tis folly to be wise".
- GoofsJust before Walter gives Captain Paris a message for the Doctor, Captain Paris bangs the gavel on the table and then places the gavel next to his glasses. He then receives the message with his left hand. In the next shot he is holding his glasses with his left hand and holding the message with his right hand.
Featured review
Alastair Sim was a fine actor who made some very good comedy films. But this is not a good one. Sim's acting as the frustrated and befuddled Royal Army chaplain and newly appointed entertainment officer, is quite good. While it's not very funny, it's the only thing that keeps one watching this film to the end.
As others have noted, it can easily become boring or blasé. There is very little witty or funny dialog in this film. The humor is mostly in situations. The best of those is during the brain trust show that Sims' Rev. William Paris hosts. That's when George Prout (Roland Culver) and Professor Mutch (Colin Gordon) nearly come to fisticuffs in an argument on the stage.
Miles Malleson adds some humor as Dr. Hector McAdam. And, the only other funny scene is toward the end. Prout takes off in his car, pulling a house trailer. Unbeknownst to him, Rev. Paris, Angela Prout and Jessie have gone into his trailer looking for him, and they are along for the ride.
The cast are fine in their roles. Elizabeth Allan plays Angela Prout and Janet Brown plays Jessie, the WAAF secretary for the camp entertainment office. Unfortunately the screenplay isn't very good and most will have a hard time sticking with the film.
As others have noted, it can easily become boring or blasé. There is very little witty or funny dialog in this film. The humor is mostly in situations. The best of those is during the brain trust show that Sims' Rev. William Paris hosts. That's when George Prout (Roland Culver) and Professor Mutch (Colin Gordon) nearly come to fisticuffs in an argument on the stage.
Miles Malleson adds some humor as Dr. Hector McAdam. And, the only other funny scene is toward the end. Prout takes off in his car, pulling a house trailer. Unbeknownst to him, Rev. Paris, Angela Prout and Jessie have gone into his trailer looking for him, and they are along for the ride.
The cast are fine in their roles. Elizabeth Allan plays Angela Prout and Janet Brown plays Jessie, the WAAF secretary for the camp entertainment office. Unfortunately the screenplay isn't very good and most will have a hard time sticking with the film.
Details
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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