Twice Upon a Time (1953 film)

Twice Upon a Time
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEmeric Pressburger
Written byEmeric Pressburger
Wendy Orme
Based onLottie and Lisa by Erich Kästner
Produced byEmeric Pressburger
StarringHugh Williams
Elizabeth Allan
Jack Hawkins
CinematographyChristopher Challis
Edited byReginald Beck
Music byFrederick Lewis
Production
company
Distributed byBritish Lion Films
Release date
  • 6 July 1953 (1953-07-06)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£102,000[1]

Twice Upon a Time is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Emeric Pressburger and starring Hugh Williams, Elizabeth Allan and Jack Hawkins.b It was written by Pressburger and Wendy Orme based on the 1949 novel Lisa and Lottie by Erich Kästner.[2] It was shot at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director Arthur Lawson.

Lotte and Lisa had already been adapted into the films Two Times Lotte (1950) and Hibari no komoriuta (1951). Twice Upon a Time was the first English-language film adaptation; the story was later twice adapted as The Parent Trap (1961 and 1998) and has been remade a number of times in English and other languages.

The film is the only solo directing credit for Pressburger, whose other directing credits are in association with Michael Powell.

Plot

Twin sisters are separated when their parents divorce. They meet again by accident when they are sent to the same summer camp, and they hatch a plan to reunite their parents.

Cast

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This piece of whimsy suffers from generally lifeless direction, a pace unremittingly slow, and, apart from the performances of Jack Hawkins and Elizabeth Allan as the doctor and mother respectively, very indifferent acting. The whole picture is dressed up with expensive locations, including interior shots of Covent Garden, and an uninspired ballet sequence."[3]

The Daily Film Renter wrote: "The production is geared by screenplay writer, producer and director Emeric Pressburger to appeal to just that vast section of the public which buys women's weeklies. It is polite and nothing heavy obtrudes. ... A woman's picture if ever there was one."[4]

References

  1. ↑ Kevin Macdonald (1994). Emeric Pressburger: The Life and Death of a Screenwriter. Faber and Faber. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-571-16853-8.
  2. ↑ Goble, Alan (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 252. ISBN 9783598114922.
  3. ↑ "Twice Upon a Time". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 20 (228): 111. 1 January 1953. ProQuest 1305809109.
  4. ↑ "Twice Upon a Time". The Daily Film Renter (6491): 6. 14 May 1953. ProQuest 3130691135.
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