''Twice Upon a Time'' is a 1953 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 o ...

directed by Emeric Pressburger and starring

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Anth ...

Elizabeth Allan Elizabeth Allan (9 April 1910 – 27 July 1990) was an English stage and film actress who worked in both Britain and Hollywood, where she appeared in 50 films. Life and career Allan was born in Skegness, Lincolnshire in 1910 and educated in D ...

, Yolande Larthe, and Charmian Larthe. It is based on the 1949 novel ''

Lisa and Lottie ''Lisa and Lottie'' (original German title: ''Das doppelte Lottchen'', "The Double Lottie") (published since 2014 in the United Kingdom and Australia as ''The Parent Trap'') is a 1949 German novel by Erich Kästner, about twin girls separated in i ...

'' by

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including '' Emil and the Detectives''. He receive ...

.Goble p.252 It concerns twin sisters who are separated when their parents divorce. They meet again by accident when they are sent to the same summer camp, and they hatch a plan to reunite their parents. ''Lotte and Lisa'' had already been adapted into the films '' Two Times Lotte'' (1950) and ''

Hibari no komoriuta is a 1951 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Koji Shima. The movie is based on ''Lisa and Lottie'' (german: Das doppelte Lottchen), a 1949 novel by Erich Kästner later adapted as the 1961 film '' The Parent Trap''. Cast * Hibari Mi ...

'' (1951). ''Twice Upon a Time'' was the first English-language film adaptation; the story was later adapted as '' The Parent Trap'' (1961) and has been remade a number of times in English and many other languages. It was shot at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...

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 and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Arthur Lawson (designer) Arthur Lawson (1908–1970) was a British art director. He had a long association with film directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, beginning in 1943 when he was floor manager on ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp''. Three year ...

. The film is the only solo directing credit for Pressburger, whose other directing credits are in association with

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

Cast

as James Turner *

as Carol-Anne Bailey *

Jack Hawkins John Edward Hawkins, CBE (14 September 1910 – 18 July 1973) was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s. One of the most popular British film stars of the 1950s, he was known for his portrayal of mil ...

as Dr. Mathews * Yolande Larthe as Carol Turner * Charmian Larthe as Anne Bailey * Violette Elvin as Florence la Riche *

Isabel Dean Isabel Dean (born Isabel Hodgkinson, 29 May 1918 – 27 July 1997) was an English stage, film and television actress. Life and career Born in Aldridge, Staffordshire, Dean studied painting at Birmingham Art School. In 1937, she joined the Che ...

as Miss Burke *

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...

as Mr. Lloyd *

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 Professor Reynolds *

Jeanne Stuart Jeanne Stuart (13 August 1908 – 12 February 2003), born Ivy Sweet, was a British stage and film actress. Using the stage name Jeanne Stuart, she performed on the London stage, on Broadway, and in motion pictures. She made her motion pictur ...

as Mrs. Jamieson *

Nora Gordon ''Nora Gordon'' (29 November 1893, West Hartlepool, County Durham – 11 May 1970, London) was a British film and television actress. She was married to Leonard Sharp. Her daughter was the actress Dorothy Gordon. She also appeared in a number ...

as Emma *

Martin Miller Martin Miller may refer to: * Martin Miller (actor) (1899–1969), Czech actor * Martin Miller (cricketer, born 1940), English cricketer * Martin Miller (cricketer, born 1972), English cricketer * Martin Miller (footballer) (born 1997), Estonian foo ...

as Eipeldauer * Lily Kann as Mrs. Eipeldauer * Collin Wilcox as Ian * Jack Lambert as Ernest * Pat Baker as Sonia * Isabel George as Molly * Alanna Boyce as Susie * Margaret McCourt as Wendy * Myrette Morven as Miss Rupert * Margaret Boyd as Mrs. Kinnaird * Cicely Walper as Mrs. Maybridge * Mollie Terraine as Miss Wellington * Archie Duncan as Doorman

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1953 films 1953 comedy films British comedy films British remakes of German films 1953 directorial debut films Films based on Lottie and Lisa Love stories Films about summer camps British black-and-white films British Lion Films films London Films films Films shot at Shepperton Studios 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub