Wordiezett So much average

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

writers_reign It's difficult today to view this film as anything more than a curio and we have to assume that Talking Pictures - who actually screened it on television - had been negotiating/planning for several months or they wouldn't have screened something promoting harmony between Russia and the UK at the very moment that relations between the two countries are strained to say the least. Puffin Asquith never made a really bsd film throughout his long and distinguished career but he had his work cut out with this one. Saddled with the highly overrated Olivier Puffin was lucky inasmuch as the producers wheeled out some top-drawer support and a luminous leading lady in the shape of Penelope Dudley Ward, soon to become Mrs. Carol Reed and, alas, retire from the screen. Far too good for Olivier she shows how it should be done.

ronricho This film is relatively unknown which is a mystery to me. It is one of the great wartime fims of the period.A wonderfully written story with great direction and a perfect cast. Lord Olivier is absolutely marvelous in the lead, as one might expect, but the supporting actors are equally marvelous with special mention to Penelope Dudley-Ward who charms from her first entrance. Olivier's Russian accent never waivers for a moment but some of his best scenes are those in which ha has no dialogue at all. His bit of business and subtle facial expressions show his immense talent.See this film if you have the opportunity.

MartinHafer During WWII, the American and British film industry made quite a few films that attempted to rehabilitate the perceptions about the Russian people. That's because before the war, they were the enemy, but now that the three countries were allies, the government pushed film makers to portray the Russians in very glowing terms. In the States, films like THE NORTH STAR gave a sickeningly sweet view of the Russians that were just too good to be true. THE DEMI-PARADISE is a British film that also seeks to made the Russians seem more human--more like our friends.It's interesting to see the famous actor Laurence Olivier playing Ivan Kouznetsoff--a Russian who talks to some British seamen during the war about his visit to London before the war. His accent seemed okay to me, but who am I to judge?! Anyways, the film is all told in flashback form. For the most part, Olivier's character is a bit standoffish and seems to think everything Russian is better--though this improves a bit through the course of the film. As for the Brits, they range from a few suspicious idiots to those who keep pointing out how "they are just like us". A father even wonders out loud about what a great husband Kouznetsoff would make. Talk about over-idealizing the Russians. As a result, the people in the film seem more like caricatures than real people. And as for Olivier, he seemed a bit silly--very stereotypical and broad in his portrayal.Now despite me not loving this film and disliking how unreal everyone seemed, it was a good bit better than the WWII Hollywood films that were pro-Russia. They went even further to idealize Russia--to such a point that the films are downright dumb, as no group of people is THAT wonderful and happy and full of spunk! Overall, it's an interesting curio but certainly not a film you should run out to rent.

bkoganbing In between making That Hamilton Woman and Henry V both of which could be argued were better contributions to the propaganda front of the British war effort, Laurence Olivier made this film about a Soviet engineer who designs a new type ship propeller and the government contracts with a British firm to build and install it on a ship. This is taking place in 1939 before any general war breaks out in Europe.Two things I found interesting about The Demi-Paradise. Firstly the fact that the proper name of the country, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, or the Soviet Union is never used once in the film. Olivier always refers to his country as Russia, as do the others in the cast. Secondly, you never hear one word about the German-Soviet non- aggression pact. I suppose that might have been better than the clumsy explanations given in the American film Mission to Moscow.But whether Czarist or Marxist it's a different world that Olivier steps into when he arrives in the United Kingdom. He's pretty suspicious at first, but his interaction with British people in all walks of life gradually wins him over. Not the least of which is pretty Penelope Ward who's conducting a campaign of her own as far as Olivier is concerned.Hardly the greatest film Olivier ever did. Then again he nor anyone else managed to get themselves blacklisted over it, did they?