![]() ![]() It's hard for me to be objective about this film, as it is adapted from my favorite novel-which I've read eight or nine times. But despite these flaws, it remains a watch able enough movie. The final chase is, as been noted, the movie's weakest link (it seems to come out of nowhere and does not fit in with the rest of the film) and is it fair from being the best Amiss adaptation (that honour belongs to the wonderful 'Only Two Can Play'). A first rate cast adds to the fun, in particular a small but perfectly formed cameo by Terry-Thomas steals the movie. Perhaps he isn't the Dixon of the book, but it is a fair attempt. The combination of a (realistic) Northern accent, plus a slightly harder edged characterisation, helps distance him from his usual 'silly ass' image. Ian Charmichael is at his best in this movie. While the novel's bite may have been lost, the movie's troubled production history (a few weeks into the filming, the original director, Ealing's Charles Crichton, was replaced) fails to show on the finished film. Fans of Kingsley Amis's brilliant novel might with justification hate this adaptation, but taken on its own terms, it is an enjoyable slice of 'fifties British comedy. ![]()
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