''Once Upon a Dream'' is a 1949 British comedy romance film directed by

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas Military Cross, MC (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director. He is perhaps best remembered for directing the ''Doctor Series, Doctor'' series of films. His brother, Gerald Thomas, was also a film dire ...

in his debut and starring

Googie Withers Georgette Lizette Withers, CBE, AO (12 March 191715 July 2011), known professionally as Googie Withers, was an English entertainer who was a dancer and actress with a lengthy career spanning some nine decades in theatre, film, and television. ...

, Griffith Jones, and

Guy Middleton Guy Middleton Powell (14 December 1906 – 30 July 1973), better known as Guy Middleton, was an English character actor, film character actor. Biography Guy Middleton was born in Hove, Sussex, and originally worked in the London Stock Exch ...

. It was a

J. Arthur Rank Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank (22 December 1888 – 29 March 1972) was a British industrialist who was head and founder of the Rank Organisation. Family business Rank was born on 22 or 23 December 1888 at Kingston upon Hull in England into ...

presentation and a

Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co- ...

production, and was released through

General Film Distributors General Film Distributors (GFD), later known as J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors and Rank Film Distributors Ltd., was a British film distribution company based in London. It was active between 1935 and 1996, and from 1937 it was part of the Rank O ...

Ltd. The film was made at the Lime Grove Studios with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Cedric Dawe Cedric Dawe (1906–1996) was a British art director. He worked on the set design of over sixty films during his career, spending many years working for ABPC at the company's Elstree and Welwyn Studios. He was praised for his realistic designs f ...

Plot

Just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, former army officer Major Gilbert returns home, shortly after his service

batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

, 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

as Carol Gilbert * Griffith Jones as Jackson *

as Major Gilbert *

Betty Lynne Betty Lynne (1911–2011) was a British film actress. During the late 1930s she played the female lead in a number of quota quickies, several of them for Warner Bros. at Teddington Studios. In 1939 she co-starred with Robert Newton in the thrille ...

as Mlle Louise * David Horne as Registrar * Geoffrey Morris as Registrar's Clerk *

Raymond Lovell Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian-born actor who performed in British films. He mainly played supporting roles, often somewhat pompous characters. Lovell initially trained as a physician at Cambridge University, ...

as Mr. Trout *

Noel Howlett Noel Howlett (22 December 1902 – 26 October 1984) was an English actor, principally remembered as the incompetent headmaster, Morris Cromwell, in the ITV 1970s cult television programme ''Please Sir!'' He was the subject of infatuation by De ...

as Solicitor *

Agnes Lauchlan Agnes Lauchlan (10 February 1905 – 28 August 1993) was a British stage, film and television actress. Agnes Mary Lauchlan, was born on 10 February 1905 in Putney, London, to Henry D. Lauchlan, a surgeon, and his Scottish-born wife Minnie. She ...

as Aunt Agnes * Mirren Wood as Conductress *

Hubert Gregg Hubert Robert Harry Gregg (19 July 1914 – 29 March 2004) was a British broadcaster, writer and actor. In his later years, he was known for the BBC Radio 2 "oldies" shows ''A Square Deal'' and ''Thanks for the Memory''. He was also a novelist, ...

as Captain Williams *

Maurice Denham William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Family Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son ...

as Vicar *

Mona Washbourne Mona Lee Washbourne (27 November 1903 – 15 November 1988) was an English actress of stage, film, and television. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the film '' Stevie'' (1978), late in her career, for which she was nominated for a Gold ...

as Vicar's Wife *

Nora Nicholson Nora Nicholson (7 December 1887 – 18 September 1973) was an English actress. Known for her portrayal of character roles, she achieved her greatest success in the later years of her career. She played in classics by Shakespeare and Chekhov and ...

as 1st W.V.S. *

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television.Hal Osmond Hal Osmond (27 May 1903 – December 1959) was a British stage, film and television actor. He played Anselm in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' episode "Errand of Mercy" (1956). Selected filmography * '' Once Upon a Dream'' (1949) * ''Vote for H ...

as Bailiff * Arthur Denton as Janitor * Eric Messiter as Pontefact *

Gibb McLaughlin George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sale ...

as Pontefact *

Cecil Bevan Cecil Stuart Reginald Bevan"England and Wales Birth Registration Inde ...

as Wright *

Wilfred Caithness Wilfrid Caithness or Wilfred Caithness (1883–1954) was a British stage and film actor. He played the role of Sebastian Moran in the 1935 film ''The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes''.Reid p.163 Selected filmography * '' A Voice Said Goodnight '' (19 ...

as Pontefact

Production

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, Order of the British Empire, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), 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 ...

refused to do the film and was put on suspension by Rank. 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." Ralph Thomas was head of the trailer department for the Rank Film Organisation. He had made a number of trailers for producer

, 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.

Reception

By 1953 the film earned a net revenue of £79,000.Andrew Spicer, ''Sydney Box'' Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 211
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Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

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

References

External links

* {{Ralph Thomas 1949 films 1940s English-language films 1949 romantic comedy films Films directed by Ralph Thomas Films shot at Pinewood Studios British romantic comedy films Films set in London British black-and-white films Films shot at Lime Grove Studios Gainsborough Pictures films 1949 directorial debut films Films with screenplays by Patrick Kirwan Films about dreams 1940s British films