Once Upon a Dream

1949 1h 27m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 4

RomanceComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Googie Withers
Carol Gilbert
Griffith Jones
Jackson
Guy Middleton
Major Gilbert
Betty Lynne
Mlle. Louise
David Horne
Registrar
Geoffrey Morris
Registrar's Clerk
Raymond Lovell
Mr. Trout
Noel Howlett
Solicitor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ralph Thomas
Writers: Val Guest, Victor Katona, Patrick Kirwan
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ralph Thomas, shot by Jack E. Cox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Arthur Wilkinson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jean Barker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Googie Withers and Griffith Jones and Guy Middleton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039679 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ralph Thomas directs. Jack E. Cox behind the camera. Arthur Wilkinson scores. Jean Barker cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
277 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Ralph Thomas, shot by Jack E. Cox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Arthur Wilkinson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jean Barker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Googie Withers and Griffith Jones and Guy Middleton carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0039679 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack E. Cox
Original score: Arthur Wilkinson
Editing: Jean Barker
Costume design: Julie Harris
Makeup / hair: John Wilcox
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Once Upon a Dream (1949)

Also by

Ralph Thomas

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-09
★ 6/10
It's quite a simple story this, and rather amusing in a light-hearted sort to fashion too. Guy Middleton ("Maj. Gilbert") returns from the war a bit zonked. All he really wants is his pyjamas and a long nap! During the night, though, his somewhat underwhelmed wife "Carol" (Googie Withers) has a dream. Not about her husband, but about his handsome batman "Jackson" (Griffith Jones). The dream is so realistic that when she wakes up in the morning she cannot understand why "Jackson" is not showing her any attention at all. There is a strong supporting cast, and a degree of chemistry between Withers and Jones that keeps this slightly far-fetched, but nonetheless entertaining bit of fluff flowing as the hapless sergeant and her husband have to deal with her frequently erratic behaviour. It is a typical post-war feel-good film, that raises a smile and comfortably passes 90 minutes.

Production companies

Who made it

SY
Sydney Box Productions
GB
TR
Triton Productions
J.
J. Arthur Rank Organisation
GB

Key crew

ProducerSydney Box
ProducerAntony Darnborough
EditorJean Barker
Associate ProducerAlfred Roome
Art DirectionCedric Dawe
Costume DesignJulie Harris
Makeup ArtistJohn Wilcox
Production ManagerHugh Attwooll
Supervising Art DirectorGeorge Provis
Sound RecordistDesmond Dew
Sound RecordistCharles Knott
Camera OperatorLen Harris
ConductorJohn Hollingsworth
Production ControllerArthur Alcott
PresenterJ. Arthur Rank

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1949-02-01

7.6