''Warning to Wantons'' is a 1949 British

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Donald Wilson and starring

Harold Warrender Harold John Warrender (15 November 1903 – 6 May 1953) was a British stage, film and television actor, and radio presenter. His father was Sir George Warrender, 7th Baronet. His mother was Lady Ethel Maud Ashley Cooper, a singer and patro ...

Anne Vernon Anne Vernon (born Édith Antoinette Alexandrine Vignaud; born 7 January 1924) is a French actress. She appeared in 40 films between 1948 and 1970, including three films that were entered into the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. She ...

and

David Tomlinson David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authori ...

. The screenplay, written by art historian

James Laver James Laver, CBE, FRSA (14 March 1899 – 3 June 1975) was an English author, critic, art historian, and museum curator who acted as Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1938 and 1959. He was also ...

and the director, was based upon Mary Mitchell's 1934 novel ''A Warning to Wantons'', subtitled 'A fantastic romance - setting forth the not undeserved but awful fate which befell a minx.' The film was one of the four of

David Rawnsley David Rawnsley (1909–1977) was a British art director. For his last four films, Rawnsley oversaw a scheme to streamline production operations for the Rank Organisation. His innovations were widely ridiculed by the Rank film crews. Despite thi ...

's films that used his "independent frame" technique, a form of

back projection Rear projection (background projection, process photography, etc.) is one of many in-camera effects cinematic techniques in film production for combining foreground performances with pre-filmed backgrounds. It was widely used for many years in ...

Premise

A young woman escapes her strict

convent school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

and enters

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

, where she has the time of her life.

Cast

Credited *

as Count Anton Kardak *

as Renee de Vaillant *

as Count Max Kardak *

Sonia Holm Sonia Holm (24 February 1922 – 2 July 1974) was an English film actress. She trained at the Rank Organisation's "charm school". Filmography * ''The Loves of Joanna Godden'' (1947) * '' When the Bough Breaks'' (1947) * '' Miranda'' (1948) * ''B ...

as Maria *

Hugh Cross Hugh Cross (24 September 1925 – 14 May 1989) was a British television and film actor. Selected filmography * '' Just William's Luck'' (1947) * ''William Comes to Town'' (1948) * ''Warning to Wantons'' (1949) * ''Seven Days to Noon'' (1950 ...

as Pauli *

Marie Burke Marie Burke (born Marie Rosa Altfuldisch, later Holt, 18 October 189421 March 1988) was an English actress of stage, cinema and television. She appeared in over 40 films between 1917 and 1971, and appeared in TV series between 1953 and 1969. B ...

as Therese *

Judy Kelly Julie Aileen Kelly (1 November 1913 – 22 October 1991), known professionally as Judy Kelly, was an Australian-born British actress. She arrived in Britain in 1932 after winning a competition organised by the Australian British Empire Films, wh ...

as Mimi de Vaillant *

Ellen Pollock Ellen Pollock (29 June 1902 – 29 March 1997) was a British character actress who mainly appeared on stage in London's West End. She also appeared in several films and TV productions. A devotee of Bernard Shaw, she was president of the Shaw S ...

as Baroness de Jammes * Andre Van Gyseghem as Oblensky *

Bruce Belfrage Bruce Belfrage (30 October 1900 – August 1974) was an English actor and BBC radio newsreader.Obituary in ''The Times'', ''Mr Bruce Belfrage'', 17 August 1974, p.14 He was casting director at the BBC between 1936 and 1939, and founded th ...

as Archimandrite *

Dennis Vance Dennis Vance (18 March 1924 – 6 October 1983) was a British television producer, director, and occasional actor. Born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, he began his career as an actor in the late 1940s, appearing in small film parts, such as Poet's P ...

as Franklin Budd *

Jack Melford John Kenneth George Melford Smith (5 September 1899 – 22 October 1972) was a British stage, film and television actor. Biography Melford was the younger brother of screenwriter and film director Austin Melford. On stage from the age of 12, ...

as Maurice Lugard *

Brian Oulton Brian Oulton (11 February 1908 – 13 April 1992) was an English character actor. Biography Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Oulton made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor. During the Second World War he served in the British Army, and ret ...

as Gilbertier Uncredited * Stanley Ratcliffe as Baroud * Aletha Orr as Mrs. Budd * Claud Frederic as Padara * Ida Patlanski as Mrs. Padera *

Olwen Brookes Olwen Brookes (26 November 1901 – 17 September 1976) was an English actress, known for ''An Inspector Calls'', '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'' and ''The First Night of Pygmalion''. Her career spanned over a quarter of a century, and as well ...

as Mdme. Bertrand * Kenneth Firth as Achille *

John Warren (actor) John Warren (1916–1977) was the stage and pen name of a British screenwriter and support actor. Specialising in comedy writing, he worked with several figures at the forefront of British comedy, such as Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, Dick Emery a ...

as Grobner * Mela White as Madeleine * Alexander Field as Woodman * Betty Thomas as Hortense *

Frank Cochrane Frank Cochrane (28 October 1882 – 21 May 1962) was a British stage and film actor. Born in Durham, England. Amongst his stage work, he starred in the original production of ''Chu Chin Chow'' at His Majesty's Theatre in London in 1916; as ...

as Gaston * Nancy Roberts as Mother Superior * Grace Denbigh Russell as Nurse * Margaret Damer as 1st Nun * Harriet Petworth as 2nd Nun * Michael Balzagette as Ticket Collector * Patricia Davidson as 1st Maid *

David Keir David Keir (1884–1971) was a British film actor, who also appeared on stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often ref ...

as Concierge * Herbert C. Walton as Quarry Peasant * Peter Faber as Page * Pauline Loring as 1st Female Relative *

Vincent Ball Vincent Martin Ball OAM (born 4 December 1923) is an Australian retired character actor of radio, stage and screen, active in the industry for nearly 55 years (with a brief return) firstly in Britain and then his native Australia. He has also ...

as Earl (Footman)

Production

It was the first of four films produced by Donald Wilson using prefabricated sets to keep costs down. Filming took six weeks.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' called the film a "A spirited romantic comedy," and rated it two out of four stars.

References

External links

* 1949 films British romantic comedy films Films shot at Pinewood Studios British black-and-white films 1949 romantic comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{romantic-comedy-film-stub