Review of Only Two Can Play

This an unconsidered little pearl and indicates where British film comedy might have gone in the 60s and 70s had it not tumbled into the abyss of the Carry On series and the Neanderthal Confessions of a Window Cleaner/Driving Instructor etc. The former was bad but the latter made Sid, Kenneth and co look like the RSC. This Sellers vehicle on the other hand, from a book by Kingsley Amis, is tightly written,well acted and genuinely funny. Apart from Sellers, Richard Attenborough is particularly good as Probert the belligerent Welsh bard who in deference to his role model has no intention of going gentle into that good night. His acerbic exchanges with Sellers' librarian are the highlights of the film. And unlike practically( I must exclude Shirley Eaton!) any female who ever appeared in either of the horrendous series mentioned above Mai Zetterling is sexy and believable. A great treat for a rainy afternoon and a chance to reassess whether Sellers' best work was in Strangelove and the Cloiseau films or were some of his earlier more understated characterisations actually superior.