''An Alligator Named Daisy'' is a 1955 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

J. Lee Thompson John Lee Thompson (1 August 1914 – 30 August 2002) was a British film director, active in London and Hollywood, best known for award-winning films such as ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'', ''Ice Cold in Alex'' and ''The Guns of Navarone (film), Th ...

and starring

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

Jeannie Carson Jeannie Carson (born Jean Shufflebottom; 23 May 1928) is a British-born retired comedian, actress, singer and dancer. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early life Born to show business parents, Carson was born as Jean Shufflebott ...

James Robertson Justice James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He is best remembered for portraying pompous authority figures in comedies including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Grego ...

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...

Roland Culver Roland Joseph Culver, (31 August 1900 – 1 March 1984) was an English stage, film, and television actor. Life and career After Highgate School, he joined the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot from 1918 to 1919. After considering other c ...

and

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles Stanley Holloway on stage and screen, on stage and screen, especially t ...

Plot

Returning from a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

match in Ireland, Peter Weston (Sinden), an Englishman, is left with a pet

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

by another passenger who abandons it to him. Horrified, his first instinct is to get rid of it as soon as possible. However, he soon develops a bond with Moira (Carson), a young Irishwoman, which appears to be centred almost entirely around the animal. He soon discovers that Daisy is very tame and domesticated, and seems to be the way to Moira's heart. Once back in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Weston struggles to keep Daisy under control – as she upsets his family, loses him his job at a department store and imperils his relationship with his fiancée Vanessa (Dors). He plans to get rid of Daisy, but the police and a pet shop refuse to take her so he abandons her in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, later returning with a sense of guilt to rescue her. Owing to a mix-up, Daisy is packed along with the rest of his luggage and accompanies him to his prospective father-in-law's country house. There, Daisy escapes and causes mayhem, while the arrival of Moira's "husband" produces a surprising outcome for all of them.

Cast

– Peter Weston *

– Moira O'Shannon *

– Sir James Colbrooke *

– Vanessa Colbrooke *

– Mr Weston *

– The General *

Avice Landone Avice Landone (1 September 191012 June 1976) was an English actress who appeared in British television and film. She was born in Quetta, British India, and made her screen debut in the 1948 film '' My Brother Jonathon''. From 1961 she co-starre ...

– Mrs Weston *

Richard Wattis Richard Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, the ...

– Hoskins *

Stephen Boyd Stephen Boyd (born William Millar; 4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977) was a Northern Irish actor. He appeared in some 60 films, most notably as the villainous Messala in '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Bes ...

– Albert O'Shannon *

Ernest Thesiger Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935). Biography E ...

– Notcher (uncredited) * Henry Kendall – Valet *

Michael Shepley Arthur Michael Shepley-Smith (29 September 1907 – 28 September 1961), known professionally as Michael Shepley, was a British actor, appearing in theatre, film and some television between 1929 and 1961. He was born in Plymouth, Devon. Shepl ...

– The Judge * Wilfrid Lawson – Irishman (uncredited) *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth ...

– Sergeant (uncredited) *

George Moon George Moon (19 March 1909 – 17 December 1981) was an English Theatre, stage, film actor, film and television actor. During the late 1950s he appeared as Ginger Smart in the television series ''Shadow Squad'' and its sequel ''Skyport''. ...

– Al (uncredited) *

Margaret Rutherford Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film. She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's '' Blithe Spirit'', and Osca ...

– Prudence Croquet *

Joan Hickson Joan Bogle Hickson, OBE (5 August 1906 – 17 October 1998) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She was known for her role as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series ''Miss Marple''. She also narrated a number ...

– Piano Customer (uncredited) *

Jimmy Edwards James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in ''Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in ''Whack-O!''. Early lif ...

– Alligator owner (uncredited) *

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

– Comedian (uncredited) *

George Woodbridge George Woodbridge may refer to: * George Woodbridge (actor) (1907-1973), English actor * George Woodbridge (illustrator) George Woodbridge (October 3, 1930 – January 20, 2004) was an American illustrator known for his exhaustive researc ...

– PC Jorkins (uncredited) * Colin Freear - Garage Boy (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on a novel published in 1954. Film rights were bought by Raymond Stross in November 1954. He wanted

Janette Scott Thora Janette Scott (born 14 December 1938) is an English retired actress. Life and career Scott was born on 14 December 1938 in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. She is the daughter of actors Jimmy Scott and Thora Hird and began her acting car ...

and Kenneth Moore to star. Filming took place at Pinewood Studios in May 1955. It was Dors' third movie with Thompson.

Critical reception

The ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote, "This very funny film has an excellent supporting cast." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' found that despite "a curiously cute bit by Margaret Rutherford, as a pet-shop owner who talks to the animals in their own "language."...the joke wears thin."

References

External links

*
An Alligator Named Daisy
at

BFI Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lot ...

An Alligated Named Daisy
at BFI

at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

An Alligator Named Daisy
at Letterbox DVD {{DEFAULTSORT:Alligator Named Daisy 1955 films British comedy films 1955 comedy films Films directed by J. Lee Thompson Films about crocodilians Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films set in London 1950s English-language films 1950s British films