Bees in Paradise

The team from Miss London Ltd are back - Arthur Askey as the "four foot nothing" hero, Anne Shelton as the saucy seductress, Peter Graves as the token handsome guy, and Jean Kent as the sweet little thing, with Max Bacon and Ronald Shiner bringing up the rear.

Jean, Anne, and about 2000 other girls are the residents of "Paradise Island", a place which seems to worship bees, to the point of acting like them - women are queens, men are drones. And after marriage, the man is sacrificed two months after the honeymoon, as their tradition goes, either by jumping off a cliff, or sailing off into the ice. So when four pilots parachute out of their dying plane and land on this island, they're immediately in for it. Askey is immediately nabbed by Shelton - for the rest of the film her entourage follows him around with his own special rickshaw. But he's after Kent, who is herself after Graves. The men find out about the death tradition, and are anxious to flee the island, until Shelton marries Askey before he realises it (drinking wine together signifies the betrothal) and suddenly it's a matter of life or death that he escapes!

Movie starts off somewhat dodgy, leaving you thinking "what on EARTH is going on??" but stay with it, it's hilarious, and well worth seeing! There's plenty of songs, and more Bob Hope/Bing Crosby/Dorothy Lamour 'road' references than you can poke a stick at.

"Bees in Paradise" was one of Arthur Askey's excellent wartime morale-raisers, & what a buzzy little film it is. A cosily camp atmosphere, appealingly "innocent" gender politics, some cheerful songs, lots of topical gags & more than a little pre-Python surrealism, combined with many charmingly "sexy" English girls of the time, make this a delightful little romp from beginning to end. There are very few dull patches - & some quite unexpectedly strange moments.

A WW2 bomber crashes on an island that turns out to be inhabited by an all-female society, whose mating rituals entail the death of the male. The bomber crew (little Arthur Askey & co) try to avoid betrothal, while convincing the girls to update their traditions. Not much of a plot, but this film is more concerned with rapid-fire humour, uplifting songs & cosy atmosphere.

Highly recommended as an example of the genuinely "lighter side" of wartime entertainment - goes beautifully with half a bottle of gin. And tonic.

Bees in Paradise is directed by Val Guest who also co-writes the screenplay with Marriott Edgar. It stars Arthur Askey, Anne Shelton, Peter Graves, Ronald Shiner and Jean Kent. Music is by Louis Levy and cinematography by Phil Grindrod. Plot finds Askey as one of four airmen who crash on a mysterious island known as Paradise. The island is ruled by women and men are regarded as disposable commodities.

Lightweight in all the right areas, Val Guest's musical comedy is ultimately what it was meant to be, a mood lifter during the war. The gender politics are played nicely for laughs, the majority of the songs are foot tapping delights (notably "I'm a Wolf on My Mother's Side") and Askey turns in one of his better comedic performances. There's of course the usual quota of malarkey, which if the picture was longer than the 72 minutes would stretch the enjoyment, while one elongated section featuring Askey in drag doesn't hit the right notes. But otherwise this is a fun and frothy way to spend just over an hour and ten minutes. 7/10

Bees in Paradise concerns a female society on an uncharted island in the Atlantic Ocean. The Queen (Antoinette Cellier), Rouana (Anne Shelton), and Jani (Jean Kent) run things. Men are scarce because after they marry, the bride and groom have a 60 day honeymoon, and then the man has to fling himself off a cliff and commit suicide).

The women are delighted when a British plane crashes and the four men on board look like sure matrimonial partners. The crewmen are Arthur Tucker (Arthur Askey), Peter Lovell (Peter Graves), Ronald Wild (Ronald Shiner), and Max Adler (Max Bacon). The men like the all female society, but aren't fans of the male's bee-like death after the honeymoon.

This film is a lot of fun with Arthur Askey at his best. The funniest sequence is when he tries to referee a rugby game between two rugged female teams. It's laughing out loud funny. The singing and dancing are well done and are highly entertaining.

Although not listed in her credits, 19-year old Patricia Owens appears in Bees in Paradise. She is one of the guards who carries Arthur around in his chair. She is also the one who selects Max as hers, telling the other girls, "I don't want any arguments. He's mine!" Later, Patricia is one the four girls playing pool. She even sinks a ball in the side pocket. Watch for her if you see this movie.

Bees in Paradise is a very pleasant way to spend 72 minutes. Arthur Askey was always funny and this one will leave you smiling.

This was Askeys television catchphrase on TV in the 1950s.Maybe that's what he should have said when he read the script.If He had then just maybe he wouldn't have appeared in this pile of junk.No wonder that after this film he was absent from the screen for 11 years'It is also surprising that Val Guest and Marriott Edgar,who had been involved in the Will Hay films should have been primarily responsible.There is not one line or scene that is funny.Whoever thought that Askey and Ronnie Shiner would make a good team clearly had little idea as to how to cast a film.The musical numbers are painful to the ear.Askey can either be very funny or very unfunny.In this film he is the later.