Jan

Miranda with Glynis Johns

Quite a number of films have appeared over the years about Mermaids and this is probably the best. It was released in 1948 so technically slightly too early for a Fifties film but here goes anyway.

Mermaids always seem to be mysterious and enchanting creatures somehow spanning the worlds of fantasy / make believe to reality . The mermaid at the centre of this quaint little English film is Miranda.

While out fishing, Dr. Paul Martin – played by Griffith Jones – is himself caught by a mermaid by the name of Miranda. She brings him to her undersea cave, agreeing to release him only in exchange for a trip to London as his “patient”.

It is made clear early on that Miranda and men find each other irresistible, and she quickly adds the chauffeur and the fiancé of Paul’s neighbor to her list of conquests. This causes more than a little consternation among their respective women, whose pity turns to jealous anger over their eagerness to carry and otherwise indulge the wheelchair-bound Miranda. Since

Miranda sleeps in a tub of cold water at night, and her diet consists almost exclusively of raw fish, it’s only a matter of time before her secret is revealed (one hilarious clue is that she treats the goldfish bowl as sort of a candy dish). Glynis Johns is utterly charming as Miranda, and Googie Withers is excellent as Paul’s ultimately understanding wife. Despite the improbable premise, one can’t help but be drawn into this very funny film. And don’t miss the scene at the very end, which may leave more questions asked than answered

Glynis Johns as Miranda

It stars Glynis Johns as Miranda, a mermaid who catches herself a Doctor on a fishing holiday and convinces him to take her home with him for a holiday.

Glynis Johns (best known for her work in Mary Poppins) is eccentric, guileless and winning.

The director Ken Annakin – who within a couple of years or so of this got his big break when he directed The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men at Denham Films Studios for Walt Disney – uses her skills to fullest in this story that sets Miranda loose in a world of extremely civilized men and women all doing the proper thing.

Of course, being the late forties and on a limited budget, the special effects are somewhat simple compared to what is available today, but to me, it only adds to the charm of it.