Jimmy L.
Miranda has lived a sheltered life under the sea. You see, she's a mermaid. She's read magazines, of course, and she wants to experience the finer things of life on land. (She just loves the opera.) Posing as a cripple, the man-crazy mermaid (played by the lovely Glynis Johns) stirs things up for a young doctor and his wife, their friends, and their servants when she comes to stay at their London flat.This movie wastes no time getting the plot rolling. The man meets the mermaid about two minutes after the main titles. And away they go.The script is saucy and filled with British wit and the movie benefits from fine performances from the ensemble (including the great Margaret Rutherford and Glynis Johns's future "Mary Poppins" husband David Tomlinson). Johns is young and beautiful and she handles her part well, flirting with all the boys and driving the women mad.Out of the gate, this film looks like it is going to be terrible. I don't know anything about camera equipment or film stock, but this movie *looks* like a TV show. Just the way the actors move around on-screen. (Low budget?) It's certainly not a glossy Hollywood production. And the beginning scenes introducing the mermaid are so rushed and amateur looking. And there are some pretty unconvincing lip-syncs when Miranda "sings" at various points throughout the movie.Luckily a charming script and a capable cast make this a breezy little distraction.
BaronBl00d
Miranda is one of those off-beat, charming , little films that manages to stir up some magic despite a story with little real credibility. Much of the film's success must go to the director Ken Annakin and a great cast of British character actors. But for my money, just seeing the truly lovely Glynis Johns as a fetching, flirtatious mermaid was enough for me. Johns was always a beauty with her bouncy, fresh blonde hair, charismatic, almost devilish smile, winsome personality, and that voice - a husky, breathy voice that could charm any man. It is those characteristics that play largely in this film as Miranda, a mermaid - a fish out of water if you will - is "caught" on a fishing trip by a young doctor who brings her back to his apartment and wife. Miranda then charms her way into the lives of two other men. All three men, attached in some way to other women, fall hopelessly in love with Miranda. Johns does a great job but the entire cast is very solid in this type of light comedy very typical of British films of this period. I really enjoyed Googie Withers in the role of Clare(the wife of Griffith Jones - the man who brings Miranda back home). Withers exudes a sardonic smile throughout as she plays through her husband's infatuation. The grand dame of British comedy herself, Margaret Rutherford, has another fine comedic turn as a rather eccentric nurse. David Tomlinson delivers as an efficient chauffeur caught under Miranda's spell. Look for Rutherford's real-life husband Stringer Davis as a museum attendant. Miranda is not a great film by any definition, but it is so charming and relaxed that it is a great deal of fun nonetheless.
whpratt1
This was a very innocent sweet fantasy about a man who goes fishing and catches a rather different kind of under water creature, a Mermaid hook line and sinker. There is plenty of comedy, drama and romance. This man and son grew very fond of this Mermaid and this story will keep your interest from beginning to the very end. The ending is rather sad, but since this film is a sort of Fish story, nature had to take its course. There was quite a few other recent films about a Mermaid namely: "SPLASH" 1984 with Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah and also a very early version in 1931 and a TV showing of "Splash" 1994. I am quite sure there will always be a story concerning a Mermaid in generation's to come. Enjoy
champion-5
I haven't seen it in a good 25-30 years. Yet I was so captivated by this movie that, all these years later I still remember it. By my definition that's worth giving it a 10. Think of the hundreds of movies you have seen in your life...how many of them do you remember 30 years later, after, perhaps, like me, only seeing it once? How many movies did you see last year, yet can't describe them...or even remember who was in them? Wonderful films don't have to be epics...they just have to touch something in you and that makes them special. If ever comes the day when this cute little film ever comes on video, you'll find me first in line to buy a copy. That's why it's a 10.
AD
