I won't repeat the basic premis of the story other than to say the viewer will have an immediate sense that something is very wrong in this house on more than one level.
The initial scenes between mother and daughter hint at something very wrong, the intermediate scenes between warring husband and wife indicate a marriage which has all but broken down but the latter scenes between father and daughter allude to something else entirely....
Filmed on the one single studio set, director Patrick Dromgoole manages to slowly build up the tension by letting virtually nothing - other than one key event - happen. By leaving so much unstated, the viewer is left to draw their own conclusion as to the motivation of the titular character.
There are a couple of moments where the symbolism (as depicted by the imagery used by Dromgoole) will hint at a solution to this puzzle - but the viewer will have to be alert to spot these amongst the red herrings on display.
Well acted, superbly directed, it's the sense of creeping unease as the tale develops that the viewer will be most aware of.
9/10
Reviews
13 Reviews
A French Mistress
(1960)
A Waste of a Great Cast
28 December 2018
So, you're Roy Boulting. You're in the middle of the golden years of your career. You're handed James Robertson-Justice, Cecil Parker, Irene Handl and Raymond Huntley as cast members. What could go wrong?
Well, sadly, plenty.
The rather flimsy plotline - minor boys only public school recruits new French mistress who, at the age of 24 is some 30 years younger than was expected (did no one check her resume?). Headmaster's son falls for Mademoiselle. Headmaster realises he may have had more to do with Mademoiselle than he thought! - is insufficient to really flesh out any of the main characters. The script is flat (almost theatrical) abd the direction uninspired.
Agnes Laurent is gorgeous and probably the stand-out performer here, her naivety charming as it flutters around the avuncular pose adopted by anyone male (including one or two of the rather mature-looking boys).
The major cast members appear to be acting almost on autopilot.
If you approach this movie in the right way, you might find it a passable little romp - the problem is that one expects so much more of such an assembled cast.
3/10.
A Top-notch Edgar
12 November 2018
Set in the infamous winter of 1962-63 (with numerous location shots showing just how wintry it was), this instalment in the Edgar Wallace series is one of the very best.
Secretly broke lawyer Alan Phipps (Richard Leech) seems unbothered by having almost been cuckolded by down-on-his-luck John Brodie (a brooding Alex Scott) and, indeed, turns matters round, hiring Brodie to use their past relationship put the wind up wealthy Yvonne Phipps (Maxine Audley).
Naturally, all is not as it seems and this one will keep you guessing right up to the end credits. Especially the scene in the hotel bedroom.....
Splendidly enjoyable way of passing an hour, each and every one of the cast do a tight script credit but it's the underrated Dudley Foster, who doesn't appear until well into the second half of the episode who steals the show with more than a hint of menace behind his urbane demeanour.
The shots of Streatham Ice Rink both at the start and the end of the episode are pure, undiluted early 60s!
If I was to be critical, it owuld be that our crooked lawyer's attempts to hoodwink the local CID when being interviewed at home are just a wee bit too obvious.
Rattle of a Simple Man
(1964)
Innocent days
14 September 2016
The story line is almost irrelevant in this touching tale of two completely unrelated people who, by chance, come together and find that, indeed, opposites do attract.
Harry H.Corbett, literally on the verge of debuting the role of Harold Steptoe, preludes facets of that character in his role as Percy, the "simple" man who turns out to be anything but. Diane Cilento as Cyrenne excels as the world-wise lady of the night who, possibly, craves the stability of a life she's overly quick to deride.
I love this charming little character study - and it includes one of the most poignant lines in the history of movies, hidden away as it is in a film long since forgotten.
"I'm 39. You came along too late" he says to Cyrenne , as he realises the opportunity of a life outwith the confines of the cotton mill and his mother's strings could only ever be a fantasy....or is it? Cue the delightful last scene.
Don't miss this. Do what you have to do to view it.
Harry H.Corbett, literally on the verge of debuting the role of Harold Steptoe, preludes facets of that character in his role as Percy, the "simple" man who turns out to be anything but. Diane Cilento as Cyrenne excels as the world-wise lady of the night who, possibly, craves the stability of a life she's overly quick to deride.
I love this charming little character study - and it includes one of the most poignant lines in the history of movies, hidden away as it is in a film long since forgotten.
"I'm 39. You came along too late" he says to Cyrenne , as he realises the opportunity of a life outwith the confines of the cotton mill and his mother's strings could only ever be a fantasy....or is it? Cue the delightful last scene.
Don't miss this. Do what you have to do to view it.
Not Tonight, Darling
(1971)
Interesting social curio
1 January 2016
Back in 1971, if you had never seen this and someone summarised it as "young blonde wife, frustrated by her husband's total lack of libido, decides to explore her sexuality", then I'm sure you'd have parted with your 50p at the cinema just as I would.
However, you'd have barely had time to lick your drink-on-a-stick before you'd have realised you'd been sold a pup.
The film says nothing, the acting is dire, the direction non- existent, the storyline meanders, wanders, then concludes by saying "make of this what you will. I give up"
However, this film is not without redemption. Here's why:
a) If you ever wondered what a seedy Soho strip club looked like in the daytime, this is for you. And what about that compere? ("Okay, remove your raincoats")
b) Captain Harrison (Bill Shine) may not be on screen for long but he does have the best lines. ("He called me Bill. Well, it was my name)
c) You really have to see the camera-work in the health club scenes to believe it. The young lady on the vibrator belt especially.
d) Thunderclap Newman playing live (along the lines of The Yardbirds in 'Blow Up' or Alan Price in 'O Lucky Man'). A previous reviewer mentioned this would interest those interested in the music of the era. It does.
e) The, shall we say, 'incredible' dream scene in the grocer's shop. Hard to believe and more than a touch of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band about it (if you recall Magical Mystery Tour).
So, all in all, a dreadful film if you look on it as a film - but a fascinating slice of what 1971 was capable of, if you come at it from another angle!
However, you'd have barely had time to lick your drink-on-a-stick before you'd have realised you'd been sold a pup.
The film says nothing, the acting is dire, the direction non- existent, the storyline meanders, wanders, then concludes by saying "make of this what you will. I give up"
However, this film is not without redemption. Here's why:
a) If you ever wondered what a seedy Soho strip club looked like in the daytime, this is for you. And what about that compere? ("Okay, remove your raincoats")
b) Captain Harrison (Bill Shine) may not be on screen for long but he does have the best lines. ("He called me Bill. Well, it was my name)
c) You really have to see the camera-work in the health club scenes to believe it. The young lady on the vibrator belt especially.
d) Thunderclap Newman playing live (along the lines of The Yardbirds in 'Blow Up' or Alan Price in 'O Lucky Man'). A previous reviewer mentioned this would interest those interested in the music of the era. It does.
e) The, shall we say, 'incredible' dream scene in the grocer's shop. Hard to believe and more than a touch of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band about it (if you recall Magical Mystery Tour).
So, all in all, a dreadful film if you look on it as a film - but a fascinating slice of what 1971 was capable of, if you come at it from another angle!
Lunch Hour
(1963)
How to turn the tables?
28 December 2015
Bryanston Films were responsible for numerous highly underrated British b-movies of the late 50s/early 60s and this one, at barely an hour in length, is up there with the best. The narrative is simple - a young salesman (Robert Stephens) in a wallpaper manufacturer, trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage, meets and is instantly attracted to a newly employed designer (Shirley-Anne Field) at the works. They want to get to know one another better but privacy is hard to find. So he books a room at a nearby private hotel for an hour one lunchtime....and there the fun (though not the way he intended) begins.
There are two ways of looking at what happens next - either she is, in reality, somewhat unhinged and her subsequent actions are the outpourings of a hysterical individual or, and I prefer this interpretation, she cleverly turns his (white) lies around, deciding that she is worth rather more than the occasional lunch hour fling.
Either way, the conclusion, with him, visibly rattled, returning to his desk whilst she, yards away, continues as nothing has happened is rather chilling.
Field is excellent throughout this film and it's not hard to see why she attracts most every male she encounters in her job. Stephens also excels as the naive, rather gauche individual who, whichever way you look at it, completely misreads the situation.
Definitely worth looking out for with the bonus of some great location shots and a very poignant soundtrack.
There are two ways of looking at what happens next - either she is, in reality, somewhat unhinged and her subsequent actions are the outpourings of a hysterical individual or, and I prefer this interpretation, she cleverly turns his (white) lies around, deciding that she is worth rather more than the occasional lunch hour fling.
Either way, the conclusion, with him, visibly rattled, returning to his desk whilst she, yards away, continues as nothing has happened is rather chilling.
Field is excellent throughout this film and it's not hard to see why she attracts most every male she encounters in her job. Stephens also excels as the naive, rather gauche individual who, whichever way you look at it, completely misreads the situation.
Definitely worth looking out for with the bonus of some great location shots and a very poignant soundtrack.
Back when the Beeb really tried!
21 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Seems a long time ago now but there was an era when the BBC was quite radical in its choice of drama and didn't go chasing ratings. And so, back in 1970, along came this masterpiece of ambiguity. George Cole, best known for his comedic roles but here giving vent to depths I certainly didn't know he possessed, highlights this piece as Douglas Willetts, a shrew of a man, mid-40s, barely able to communicate and renting a bedroom in a typically working-class two up-two down. Only he has a bit of a past. Possibly. For Douglas, every day is just a question of getting through it as painlessly as possible – and that usually means retreating to his bedroom. In order to escape the mundanities of the present? Or to ruminate on his past? I had a feeling something was going to happen in that house and certain now that the author of this piece was well versed in the Lizzie Borden legend! The staid pace of the drama and lack of incidental music, the banal detail highlighted in both the house and Willetts' office, all these are a perfect suburban backdrop for what's really going on in Willetts' mind. His subsequent actions are never truly explained and the drama is all the better for that as the viewer needs to think. And think hard. Such a shame the BBC don't credit we viewers with the same patience these days. Annette Crosbie is excellent as the secretary with just a hint of a crush on a man she senses is as lonely as she, herself is. The Braziers' – who Willetts lodges with – are all splendidly portrayed. The fussy matriarch who can't see past a mucky kitchen table as the ultimate in disaster. The slobby patriarch whose idea of exercise is falling asleep in front of the telly. The slobby lecher of a son who belongs more in the 50s than the swinging 60s. They all meet their comeuppance. The question for the viewer is a simple one – why? All in all, a splendid slice of BBC drama and, with the decor, Totopoly and It's A Knockout on the box, a marvellous curio too!!
Paper Man
(1971 TV Movie)
Prescient - if slightly overlong
20 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I see that this movie was made in 1971 - so I do wonder how much it was influenced by the Journey To The Unknown episode "The Madison Equation" from 3 years earlier. The idea of computers running riot with a "mind of their own" and with dire consequences was best achieved in "Fail Safe" but it's amazing how all three of these have managed to highlight, in their own way, what might happen if man puts too much store by these machines. We don't hear so much of that now - are we too trusting? Felt that 90 minutes was a bit overlong for this particular one, though. The story dragged a bit halfway through and the rationale for the creation of Henry Norman just didn't ring true. Stockwell carries the movie, frankly...most of the rest of the cast just seem there as filler. There appeared to me to be TWO twists to the ending - the obvious one and the one in the movie's final minute when the Sheriff is in the room and the date is revealed. Nicely ambiguous! One very confusing point for me, though: -James Stacy's character's demise......just what happened to him in the end? 90 minutes of good fun - but "The Madison Equation" is a better piece of made-for-TV viewing covering this same subject. And it's 40 minutes shorter.
La cabina
(1972 TV Movie)
The stuff of nightmares...
22 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I stumbled across this short film quite by accident on YouTube. Within 30 seconds I recognised it as "that" film I had seen in the early 80s and which terrified the life out of me. Even more amazed to find all these reviews on IMDb from people who must have seen it at the same time as me all those years ago and for whom the impact has not lessened in the slightest with the passage of time. Watching it again 30 years on, I find it not so much terrifying as extremely disturbing and with a very powerful message. I can interpret this movie in a number of ways but I believe it is telling the viewer that each of us, quite at random, can find their lives completely changed for the worse - and without hope of repair - by a whim of fate. That may be a fatal illness, an accident to ourselves or a loved one, or any number of such scenarios. The point being that a) it's as likely to happen to us as anyone else and b) we have to live with the consequences, however unfair or unjust they undoubtedly are. And, like the man in the phone box, we ask "but why me??" The real genius of this short film is that it supplies no answer to the question - nor does it even hint at one. For there is no answer.
Don't miss this one
14 April 2011
More twists and turns than usual in this episode of a highly underrated TV series. Zena Walker's performance as the ruthless schemer is all the more impressive given she forgoes any overtly emotional expressions... either visually or verbally. I was reminded of Phyllis Dietrichson in "Double Indemnity" at times. Kenneth Cope is surprisingly convincing as a villain - but what's that car he's driving? Looks like it's from the 1920s! One or two holes in the storyline, non-sequiturs, if you like, but these shows mustn't be judged too harshly. Budgets were low and shooting time was extremely tight. Great entertainment - perfect for passing an hour on a wet Tuesday afternoon (as I did). Not quite my favourite episode (that remains "Flat Two") but up there in the top 5.
Pauline Boty's final credited screen appearance
14 April 2011
Those familiar with "The Mysteries Of Edgar Wallace" will find the usual plot twists and turns associated with this underrated TV series, however this one has a more "modern" feel to it, with mention of discotheques, allusions to (for the time) somewhat controversial subjects such as wife-beating and bigamy as well as a rather offbeat script. The story itself is quite standard - woman is killed, her common-law husband is accused but all is not as it seems. It's well played (at times almost tongue-in-cheek) by a familiar cast but the real gem here is finding the final credited appearance on screen of Pauline Boty, who died later that year from cancer at the age of 27 and who would, 30 years later, be "discovered" as one of the great "forgotten" pop-art creators of the age. Her demise is a very tragic story, one of sacrifice for her unborn child and makes viewing this episode (where she plays Nell Pretty...a lively, giggly Twiggy-type character whose driving is as wayward as her dancing!) all the more poignant. This episode also features Britain's most prolific actress - Marianne Stone - in a small but quite touching role as a battered wife who can take no more. I've always felt that, given a chance, she could have handled much tougher roles than she was ever given. Here is a short example of what she could bring to the screen. All in all, an excellent episode in an excellent series.
The Love Machine
(1971)
You got to be in the mood for this one
28 April 2009
Well, where to start? I stumbled across this one in 1993 and just hit "record" on the VCR out of habit, more than anything else. "Citizen Kane" it sure isn't...but if you've had a bad day and are in the mood for crashing out in front of something not too intellectually stimulating, then I tentatively suggest this might just be your "thing".
We have the lot here - great title track, more stereotypes than you could shake a stick at, unconscious comedy, the bitchiest fight scene of all time and more, more, more! David Hemmings plays the diametric opposite of his role in the 60s classic "Blow Up" - still a photographer, still hormonally stimulated but not "quite" the same.
John Philip Law is easy to slam as an actor who makes a log appear unwooden but that wouldn;t be fair seeing as how he had about 5 minutes notice before accepting the role.
Wexler as "Amanda"? Suffice to say it was her one and ONLY film role! The real star of this movie, though, is Ethel Evans who plays a, shall we say secretary (?), with the morals of an alley cat and an ambition to match. The way she manages to reconcile her present life with that of a future with her comedian husband-to-be is actually quite touching in an earthy, gritty, what-is-to-be-will-be way.
I actually love this movie when I'm in the mood for it.......and wouldn't touch it with the proverbial bargepole when I'm not.
Kudos to the cast for keeping a (relatively) straight face when filming.
A "classic" in the Edward D Wood school of cinematic endeavours!
We have the lot here - great title track, more stereotypes than you could shake a stick at, unconscious comedy, the bitchiest fight scene of all time and more, more, more! David Hemmings plays the diametric opposite of his role in the 60s classic "Blow Up" - still a photographer, still hormonally stimulated but not "quite" the same.
John Philip Law is easy to slam as an actor who makes a log appear unwooden but that wouldn;t be fair seeing as how he had about 5 minutes notice before accepting the role.
Wexler as "Amanda"? Suffice to say it was her one and ONLY film role! The real star of this movie, though, is Ethel Evans who plays a, shall we say secretary (?), with the morals of an alley cat and an ambition to match. The way she manages to reconcile her present life with that of a future with her comedian husband-to-be is actually quite touching in an earthy, gritty, what-is-to-be-will-be way.
I actually love this movie when I'm in the mood for it.......and wouldn't touch it with the proverbial bargepole when I'm not.
Kudos to the cast for keeping a (relatively) straight face when filming.
A "classic" in the Edward D Wood school of cinematic endeavours!
Strongroom
(1962)
At last out on DVD!
11 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Seriously underrated little noir and, in some ways, a repeat of the 1960 movie "The Man In The Back Seat" which also starred Nesbitt and Faulkner as two crooks for whom fate deals a dirty hand. Both movies are excellent (and both directed by the equally underrated Sewell) and both have very neat twists in the tail. These two linked movies are unusual in that, given the era they were made in, the viewer is NOT subjected to "happy endings". As "Strongroom" was made in 1962, it might make for an interesting legal discussion as to whether either or both of the miscreants would hang or not......once again, Faulkner plays the conscience to Nesbitt's more hard-headed felon. I doubt whether that would count for too much with a contemporary criminal court jury, however. Faulkner is a fine foil to Nesbitt - they make a fine team in both movies...not sure why he gave up films. If anyone does, let me know...
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