''Traveller's Joy'' is a 1949 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

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 ...

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. ...

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for h ...

and

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 ...

. Based on a West End play of the same name by

Arthur Macrae William Arthur Schröpfer (17 March 1908 – 25 February 1962) known by the pen name and stage name Arthur Macrae was an English playwright and comic actor. He graduated from RADA in 1928; with acting work including the original West End producti ...

, it was the last film released by the original

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

Premise

With extensive restrictions on how much

foreign exchange The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...

British travellers can take outside the realm (then £5), a variety of English men and women are trapped in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in the very expensive country of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. These include Bumble and her estranged husband Reggie. As each struggle with their hotel bills they try to trick others into paying, but as the hardship is widespread the group begins to grow with no-one having the cash to resolve the issue. The ladies try to trick various men into helping and vice versa. The problem is ultimately resolved by a Swedish citizen offering accommodation in return for a reciprocal arrangement when he visits Britain. Meanwhile the various couples regroup.

Cast

Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (german: Erich Pohlmann; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, th ...

as Gustafsen *Philo Hauser as Pawnbroker *

as Bumble Pelham *

as Reggie Pelham * Yolande Donlan as Lil Fowler *

as Fowler *

Colin Gordon Colin Gordon (27 April 1911 – 4 October 1972) was a British actor born in Ceylon. Biography He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a ...

as Tom Wright *

Gerard Heinz Gerard Heinz (born Gerhard Hinze; 2 January 1904 – 20 November 1972) was a German actor. Heinz was born in Hamburg, Germany and later moved to Britain, where he changed his name. He appeared in almost 60 films (including ''Caravan''), and a n ...

as Helstrom *

Geoffrey Sumner Geoffrey Sumner (20 November 1908, Ilfracombe, Devon – 29 September 1989, Alderney, Channel Islands) was a British actor. As well as appearing in a number of films, he was also a commentator for British Movietone News., His parents were Edmund ...

as Lord Tilbrook *

Peter Illing Peter Illing (4 March 1899 – 29 October 1966) was an Austrian-born British film and television actor. Selected TV series * '' Deadline Midnight'' (1961) as Captain Dnieprovsky * '' The Saint'' (1962) as Inspector Buono Filmography * '' The S ...

as Tilsen *

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television.Grey Blake Grey Blake (1902–1971) was a British stage, film and television actor. Amongst his stage appearances was as Peter Quilpe in the original Broadway theatre, Broadway production of ''The Cocktail Party'' by T.S. Eliot at Henry Miller's Theatre in ...

as Hotel Receptionist *Gerik Schjelderup as Bergman *Gerald Andersen as Carlsen *

Clive Morton Clive Morton (16 March 1904 – 24 September 1975) was an English actor best known for playing upper class Englishmen, he made many screen appearances, especially on television. In 1955, he appeared in Laurence Olivier's '' Richard III'' and is ...

as Svensen *

Anthony Forwood Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood (3 October 1915 – 18 May 1988), known professionally as Anthony Forwood, was an English actor. Early life Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood was born on 3 October 1915 in Weymouth, England. The Forwood family were lande ...

as Nick Rafferty * Antony Holles as Head Waiter *

Sandra Dorne Sandra Dorne (born Joan Smith; 19 June 1924 – 25 December 1992) was a British actress. Career Also known as Sandra Holt, Dorne was often known in the 1950s as the B-film Diana Dors. As a platinum blonde, she was a regular female lead ...

as Flower Shop Assistant

Production

The film was based on a West End play by Andrew Macrae about Englishmen travelling in Europe and the problems experienced by them due to post-war currency restrictions. It premiered at the Criterion on 2 June 1948 starring

Yvonne Arnaud Germaine Yvonne Arnaud (20 December 1890 – 20 September 1958) was a French-born pianist, singer and actress, who was well known for her career in Britain, as well as her native land. After beginning a career as a concert pianist as a child, Ar ...

and produced by

Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1909 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detec ...

; it was a smash hit, running for two years.

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

saw the play while he was Prime Minister.

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- ...

bought the film rights while head of Gainsborough Pictures. The film starred John McCallum and Googie Withers, who had recently married. "We think, it Is an excellent idea to work together," said John. It was the first of a three-picture contract Withers signed with Sydney Box. The job of directing was given to Ralph Thomas, who had just made two comedies for Box, ''Once Upon a Dream'' and ''Helter Skelter''. John McCallum came down with

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

during filming and had to take a week off. This caused filming to be suspended for a week, costing the production £12,000. However the film was completed half a day under schedule.

Release

Under the terms of the film right contracts, the movie of ''Traveller's Joy'' was not allowed to be released until the play finished running. This held up release for over two years. By the time it came out, the topicality of the subject matter had passed and the film was a

box office disappointment A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

Critical reception

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 ...

'' wrote, "one suspects that the stage play upon which ''Travellers Joy'' was based was slightly more subtle than the film version. Whatever the case, door-slamming farce was really not the forte of either McCallum or Withers, and before long they returned to the heavy drama they did best."

References

External links

*
Traveller's Joy
at BFI {{Ralph Thomas 1949 films 1940s English-language films 1949 comedy films Films directed by Ralph Thomas British comedy films Gainsborough Pictures films British films based on plays British black-and-white films Films set in Stockholm 1940s British films