Mad About Men

'Mad About Men' is every bit as good as 'Miranda', although it doesn't pick up the pace until at least a third in. Caroline Trewella has gone to stay at her Cornish cottage for a few days when she meets her distant cousin, Miranda. Miranda wants to go back on land, so Caroline agrees to let her take her place whilst she goes out cycling with a friend. And the first thing Miranda does is to decide that Caroline needs a better fiancee!

The colour looks a bit garish on Glynis Johns but Anne Crawford and Donald Sinden look lovely. Dora Bryan is also hilarious as Miranda's annoying little companion, who upsets the applecart on every possible occasion. The basics are the same as in 'Miranda' although the ending is definitely a little neater. 9/10

Peter Blackmore scripted this weak whimsical fantasy, a Technicolor sequel to 1948's black-and-white "Miranda" (which had been based upon Blackmore's play). Glynis Johns returns as the romantic-minded mermaid who swims in the waters off Cornwall; she chances to meet her human twin, a distant relative and school-mistress who is about to be married to a stuffy engineer. Blackmore clearly relishes the chance to open up his scenario and throw in some wild bits of humor--and Johns in a dual role is certainly an inspired idea--but most of the warmth from the first film is missing. Miranda's true identity is discovered by a jealous female, who hopes to exploit the siren on-stage during a charity benefit (!), while Caroline, Miranda's twin, has to rush home from a biking trip to save the mermaid from catastrophe. Faintly enjoyable and yet too much of a good thing, what with corny one-liners and Margaret Rutherford overacting like mad in a reprisal of her role as Miranda's eccentric nurse and confidante. Blackmore and director Ralph Thomas raise a big laugh or two, but their chaotic finale is a complete muck-up, and the film's editing and continuity are disappointing. ** from ****

Mad About Men is a sequel to the innovative little British comedy Miranda. That film was about a mermaid coming out of water and befriending every male she met. This picks up some time after with Glynis Johns reprising her role not only as Miranda but also as stuffy teacher Caroline going to Cornwall to sell her house so she can marry snooty Peter Martyn. There she finds Miranda, realizes the two look just alike, and leaves Miranda in her place as herself. Naturally, Miranda is up to nothing but mischief, again befriending every male she meets. Brain surgeons are not needed to figure out how this all ends, but the film has a nice pace and keeps the whole thing afloat somehow. Like its predecessor, Mad About Men is charming, funny, and frivolous entertainment. Johns is breathtaking in colour. She exudes tons of sex appeal once again as the fishy nymphomaniacal mermaid looking for men. Margaret Rutherford reprises her role as the nurse who knows Miranda's secret and as always is a joy. The rest of the cast is very solid, and director Ralph Thomas does a more than workmanlike job creating some believability - a possible problem with this film, unlike Miranda, being in glorious colour.

I just wanted to share my feelings about this film I had seen in the 60's growing up with my big sister. Were we ever enchanted by the mermaid story! I had and have hoped to go to Cornwall some day to see the locales. Since that time it has been fun seeing other people from this film in others. I discovered the talented Anne Crawford who was great in serious roles as well. Sadly, she passed away all too soon from Leukemia (before we had ever seen the film).

The story is delightful with the beautiful Miss Johns as the wistful mermaid wanting to meet men and switching places with her lookalike who has inherited a lodging house in Cornwall with a cave underneath.

The prim schoolteacher eventually meets a handsome man Miranda has chosen for her. Of course there is competition along the way, in the form of Anne Crawford's suitor who would turn aside from his engagement to be with Miranda. And of course the dowdy fiancée of Caroline is soon dispensed with.

A lovely and delightful story! Margaret Rutherford is outstanding as the eccentric Nurse Carey tending to her eccentric charge, Miranda. And a delightful whimsical moment - We even have Margaret's husband in a comedic scene as the Vicar who wants Nurse Carey to hang out with the sailors and smoke a pipe. This she endeavors to do with little success.

I can't even mention this wonderful film in the same breath as Splash which I might have liked better had it not been overdone sexual overtones. But I did like the story line of that film too. It's just that the actions and some dialogue were too blatant. Some of Tom Hanks's lines (and I do like Tom Hanks) are overdone.

Not to create a spoiler here - The original film to Mad About Men entitled Miranda is more racy, as we are to conclude that Miranda has had a child by a mortal man. But this is done with class and aplomb when we see the little "Merman" at the end with his mother looking wistfully toward the cave where she first met a married man.

In conclusion, to me Glynis gets the award as the most fetching and beautiful mermaid of all time - some 40 years after first seeing the film. My big sister and I wanted to grow up to look and be just like Glynis.

New info. as of May of 2016 - I recently obtained a copy of the film that is not garish. I know what the reviewer was saying and had a copy where Miranda's hair looked grayish blonde and the darker colors garish. I recall seeing the film in the 60's as a child on TV and it looked great. My new copy is just about as perfect as you can get.

I never saw MIRANDA but this is a lively sequel to that film with GLYNIS JOHNS again playing the saucy mermaid with her usual charm.

Glynis is a flirtatious mermaid who takes the place of a schoolteacher for a couple of weeks, determined to find a better husband for her than the stuffy fiancé she's engaged to. They resemble each other greatly because, as "Miranda" describes it, they're both descended from the mermaid side of the family.

It's utter nonsense, played to the hilt by a cast intent on making it reasonably funny but only partly succeeding.

MARGARET RUTHERFORD overplays the role of a dotty nurse who looks after the mermaid and is in her element in over-the-top fantasy farce. DONALD SINDEN is a wealthy man Miranda has her eyes on as a possible husband for the schoolteacher.

It's filmed in garish looking color (unusual for a British film which usually featured muted color), but the charm begins to wear off fairly early as the plot gets sillier and sillier.

Summing up: Mermaid comedies are not my cup of tea and this one is sillier than most, especially when the mermaid's inability to walk is compensated by some weak plot contrivances which has her being carried around by the men with her mermaid tail barely concealed under a thin blanket.

Trivia note: Interesting to see JOAN HICKSON as the owner of a lodge, long before she became Jane Marple for British TV.