Interesting film. Slice of life warm stuff about John Gregson a dustman and hurley player whose landladies want to root him. He moves to a house and falls for Muriel Pavlow.
Quiet, senstivie a little wonky. The novel was set in Newcastle but they set it in Ireland.
John Gregson is very affable. I liked Pavlow in this. Barry Fitzergerald is in it.
This isn't bad. Better than Jacqueline.
1) Stripes (1981) "well, we were on our way to bingo..."
2) Splash (1984) - "I could never be that happy..."
3) Home Alone (1990) - a wonderful eleventh hour cameo
4) Only the Lonely (1991) - he would have had a long rich career as character actor
5) JFK (1991)
6) Cool Runnings (1993) - an ex-athlete, no, as a wonderful performance, yes
7) Planes Trains and Automobiles (1987)
8) Uncle Buck (1989)
9) National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
10) Summer Rental (1985) - yes I know but I have fond memories of it
I acknowledge these are mostly cameos.
Norman Wisdom discovers a betting scheme and gets involved with bookies. Margaret Rutherford is fun in a too-brief appearance, and bookies are entertaining, including Leslie Phillips. The women are dull - Rank starlet Jill Dixon, Delphi Lawrence.
In black and white not colour - Rank saving some money.
I wanted to see this on the big screen. Thoughts:
- wanted to like it more than I do but as a quickie it's impressive
- Luanda Anders is wonderful and the film never recovers from her death, the best bit
- Bobby Campbell a little odd, the other female lead a little erratic, Patrick Magee terrific
- needs a Vincent Price
- spooky atmosphere
- lots of chat, I got confused.
Phil Leacock and Neil Paterson had a successful film in Nova Scotia so went back there, although the novel was set on Maine. The Little Kidnappers had splendid casting - this not so much. It's a woman's picture with Betta St John pursued by three men - sleazy Patrick McGoohan, no good charmer William Sylvester, true love Michael Craig.
Nothing wrong with that formular but you've got to give good stuff - a real star, glamour, pretty things to look at.
They don't do that here. Betta St John isn't up to it. All the crap roles given to potential Rank Organisation greats like Diane Cilento, Kay Kendall, Diana Dors and it goes to St John who is pretty and nice and fine but not a star.
Sylvester isn't handsome enough - McGoohan and Craig are. They miss Dirk Bogarde or Anthony Steel.
The pace is slack. This needed to be full blooded. Sex, passion, like Gainsborough. More Canadian feel or at least sense of community. Not there.
Gainsborough would've made this well in the 1940s - or needed to be made a few years later with more sex
I wanted to like it more than I did because it was so great to Rank making a black comedy, a spoof of scandal mags with Dennis Price's publisher blackmailing some lovely actors, including Terry Thomas, Peter Sellers and Shirley Eaton. There's a few too many characters - some consolidation would not go astray. Sellers is fun, ditto Eaton - and everyone really. It doesn't quite nail it but is fine.
