''Our Girl Friday'' (U.S. title ''The Adventures of Sadie'') is a 1953 British comedy film starring

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

, George Cole,

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy '' Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this per ...

and

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Ga ...

. It is about a woman who is

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

ed with three men on a

deserted island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereoty ...

. The film was based on the Australian writer

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his generat ...

's 1934 novel ''The Cautious Amorist''.

Plot

A ship collision results in four survivors from an ocean liner winding up on a desert island: spoiled heiress Sadie, lecturer Professor Gibble, journalist Jimmy Carrol and ship's stoker Pat Plunket. Carrol falls in love with Sadie and she kisses him. Gibble falls in love with Sadie. This causes conflict between Carrol and Gibble that results in Sadie wanting to move to the other side of the island to live alone. Gibble gets the wrong impression that Pat and Sadie are intimate. Pat finds a bottle of rum and gets drunk. Sadie takes over as leader on the island. When the men threaten to strike, she declares that the group will never function until she marries one of the men. They draw straws and Gibble gets the short straw, but tries to back out in favour of Pat. Then a ship appears and the group is rescued. Safe on the ship, Gibble falls in love with Sadie again and asks her to marry him. So does Carrol. However, Sadie is in love with Pat, but he refuses her marriage proposal, saying they are too different. But Sadie persuades the ship's captain that Pat is obliged to marry her, but before it can happen that ship goes down. Sadie wades ashore at the same island where Pat has already arrived.

Cast

as Sadie Patch * George Cole as Jimmy Carrol *

as Pat Plunkett *

as Professor Gibble *

Hermione Gingold Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and e ...

as Spinster *

Walter Fitzgerald Walter Fitzgerald Bond (18 May 1896 – 20 December 1976) was an English character actor. Early life Born in Stoke, Plymouth, Fitzgerald was a former stockbroker before he began his theatrical training at RADA. He joined the British Army dur ...

as Captain *

Hattie Jacques Hattie Jacques (; born Josephine Edwina Jaques; 7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the ''Carry On'' films, where she typically played strict, no-non ...

as Mrs. Patch *

Felix Felton Robert Forbes Felton (12 August 1911 – 21 October 1972), known professionally as Felix Felton, was a British film, television, stage and voice actor as well as a radio director, composer and author. Radio work In his earlier years Felton cons ...

as Mr. Patch *

Lionel Murton William Lionel Murton (2 June 1915 – 26 September 2006) was an English character actor. Born in Wandsworth, London, he was resident at Little Orchard, Weston Road, Upton Grey, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, before his death at age 91. He was c ...

as Barman

Production

Norman Lindsay's novel ''The Cautious Amorist'' was published in 1931. It was banned in parts of Australia. Film rights were purchased in 1948. It was to be written and directed by

Noel Langley Noel Langley (25 December 1911 – 4 November 1980) was a South African-born (later naturalised American) novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director. He wrote the screenplay which formed the basis for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' an ...

and

was attached as a star. The original producer was John Sutro and the working title was ''Sadie was a Lady''.

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

was going to be the female star. Then

Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...

was going to play it. By now George Minter was producer and the title was ''The Girl on the Island''. The film ended up not being made until several years later. Joan Collins was borrowed from J. Arthur Rank to appear in the film. "I wore a bikini and no make up", said Collins later. "It was quite restful and more like a holiday than work." Collins later claimed she was the first actress to appear in a bikini on screen in this film. Her character tears up a shirt into a makeshift one. The movie was mostly shot on location in

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

, Spain. More's fee was £4,500.

Reception

Although the film was released after ''

Genevieve Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January. Genevieve was born in Nanterre a ...

'' (1953), which made More a star, it performed disappointingly at the box office.Kenneth More, ''More or Less'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1978 p 160

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 0048458, Our Girl Friday 1953 films 1953 romantic comedy films British romantic comedy films Films about castaways Films set on uninhabited islands 20th Century Fox films Films with screenplays by Noel Langley Films directed by Noel Langley Films produced by Noel Langley Films based on works by Norman Lindsay 1950s English-language films 1950s British films