Miranda

Risque to say the least for this post war British comedy with a twist in the tail - quite literally. Glynis Johns is the delightful mermaid with a penchant for young men - wooing them with her charm alone. Interesting in part for its treatment of 'disabled' people as Miranda is treated as such throughout. Googie Withers is great as the harassed wife while Margaret Rutherford sparkles in a relatively small role - but at least she gets to dance. Of everyone, David Tomlinson is perhaps the most comical as a lovesick young butler and that really is Maurice Denham as the fish salesman. Acceptable but not for all.

A charming fantasy in which a mermaid appears to a young husband who has got away from it all to go fishing: Glynis Johns shines in the lead as the playful miss with the fish's tail who starts to snare all the men she comes across. Griffith Jones is the man who starts to regret bringing his find back to his home and wife (Googie Withers), while David Tomlinson is appealing as the driver with big ears who Miranda seems particularly taken with.

Quite the best performance in this confection comes from the incomparable Margaret Rutherford, joyous as the ageing nurse who has always believed in the existence of magical creatures such as mermaids. With an amusing and intriguing ending (and a credit ‘ Tail by Dunlop'), ‘Miranda' is one of the highlights of 1940s British cinema. Johns and Tomlinson would appear together again memorably in 1964 as the parents in ‘Mary Poppins'. Jones was still acting on stage recently in his late eighties in small Shakespeare roles. And the mermaid story showed up in another guise with Daryl Hannah, Tom Hanks, and ‘Splash!' some 40 years after ‘Miranda'.

I remember seeing this film as a very young boy, and I've never forgotten the mesmerizing magical effect that it had on me. I also saw "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid", but I think "Miranda" was the better of the two films. Although a black and white production, the "special effects" used for the mermaid's tail are still eerily alive in my mind all these years later. Glynis Johns was really funny as the aquatic sea babe. I fully appreciated the more recent Ron Howard film "Splash", in it's own way. I am not at all sure if "Miranda" inspired this modern story, but it's not important, since both stand on their own humorous cinematic merits. I've been wishing, and praying, and hoping to find "Miranda" in the video classic section of my local film rental establishments for years to no avail. I'm not sure if it is available, but it would be a real kick to see it after all these years!

Like so many other people who have commented, I saw this film as a very young boy on television and was mesmerized by it.

So taken with it that I followed Miss Johns career and was amply rewarded. She's always been a delight..and not to forget that she was the original cast member to sing "Send in the Clowns". Margaret Rutherford also sticks in my memory as the hilarious nurse. When I saw the Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah film many years later, I immediately was drawn back in time and remembered a much more delicate, sweet film as this one is.

Please....please....release this movie on DVD??

This is a one-of-a-kind fantasy movie that beautifully showcased such major talents as Glynis Johns and Margaret Rutherford. I can hardly wait til this movie is made available for sale (if the film is still in good shape, why hasn't it been available yet?). In my view, there simply isn't enough information, or good movies, on the subject of mermaids, and hopefully this could be rectified by an updated version of this movie..I haven't casted it in my mind yet, but there are a handful of worthies that come to mind for Miranda. However, it will be a more difficult task to find someone even close to our beloved Margaret Rutherford.