Once Upon a Dream (1949)
An officer's wife has a romantic dream about her husband's man (servant) and comes to believe it is true. Meanwhile the husband has asked his servant to help him, after the war, to suggest ways to ignite the romance he and his wife had before the war, as well as find a way to make money in a post-war economy.
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To me, this movie is perfection.
Memorable, crazy movie
It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Guy Middleton is about to be discharged from the army. He sends his batman, Gilbert Jones, ahead to work as general dogsbody for his suburban home. Meanwhile, Googie Withers, whose clothing shop has just gone bankrupt, comes home to find this strange, efficient man in her home. She quickly comes to depend on him, but when Middleton shows up, tight, and goes to sleep instead of celebrating his homecoming, she dreams of a romantic encounter with Jones. After she wakes, she imagines the encounter was real, and troubles begin.This British comedy plays like an enjoyable, if mild comedy from a Hollywood producer, with enough touches of Britain to give it a bit of distinction. Indeed, several aspects make it look as if Rank had the American market in mind; the music cues seems typical of American productions and the married couple has twin beds, standard in US production since the enforcement of the Code in 1934. There's little here to astonish the viewer, but if you have a taste for drawing-room comedy from this period, this polite, saucy effort should please you.
I'm a fan of Googie Withers so I was a little predisposed to this. It's a bit silly - her husband is away in service and sends a friend of his along to help out before his returns, she gets a little crush on the friend and has a dream about him which suddenly gets muddled with reality - but not annoying, and played out very well. Griffith Jones is superb as the accommodating Jackson and Guy Middleton amusing as the unknowing husband. There's also a token flower show with 'Auntie Agnes' who wins every year, ala Mrs. Miniver. And even if the best part is a dream, it surely is romantic! The first scene is hilarious as well, even if it has almost nothing to do with the rest of the movie until the very end. Seems a little disjointed, but a little risque British humour never hurt any film.