A PAIR OF BRIEFS

Mary Peach and Michael Craig

A PAIR OF BRIEFS (1962). Director: Ralph Thomas.

Tony Stevens (Michael Craig) is a young lawyer hoping to get "briefs" -- cases -- that will pay more money than others. Tony is annoyed when newcomer Frances (Mary Peach) gets a high-paying case right off the bat due to connections, so he importunes a drunken friend of his in the prosecutor's office to let him stand up for the defendant in the same case (a highly unlikely scenario). Frances is representing Gladys Worthing (Brenda de Banzie), a shabby middle-aged woman who is suing her alleged husband, Sidney (Ron Moody of Murder Most Foul), for "restitution of conjugal rights." For his part, Sidney insists that he and Gladys were never married. As the case proceeds, Judge Haddon (James Robertson Justice) nearly has apoplexy dealing with the oddly reticent plaintiff as well as the conduct of the two opposing barristers.

Nicholas Phipps

A Pair of Briefs tries hard to be a hilarious near-farce of a comedy, but it is never as funny as it might have looked on paper. The performances are fine, with handsome Craig managing to actually come off like a nerd through much of the movie. What makes the film worthwhile and memorable are the developments and twists that come in the final third of the film, which are amusing. Also in the cast is Nicholas Phipps, who wrote the screenplay, as he did for the Craig vehicle Doctor in Love, in which he also appeared. A small part is played by Judy Carne, who later went on to fame on Laugh-In and through her combative marriage to Burt Reynolds.

Verdict: Interesting developments and a good cast help put this over. ***. 

DOCTOR AT SEA

Bardot and Bogarde

DOCTOR AT SEA (1955). Director: Ralph Thomas.

Dr. Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bogarde) becomes a ship's doctor chiefly to get away from an encumbrance with the plain daughter of his medical partner. Instead of a grumpy chief surgeon played by James Robertson Justice, he gets a grumpy Captain Hogg, also played by James Robertson Justice, and who's not much different from the surgeon. Hogg hates the idea of women on board ship, but he gets two female passengers, French chanteuse Helene Colbert (Brigitte Bardot), and Muriel Mallet (Brenda de Banzie), who is fascinated by the captain's beard and happens to be the daughter of the head of the line. There's some funny stuff in here, but more often the picture strains for hardy laughs. The cast is quite good, however, with an always-solid Bogarde, although a more demure, brunette Bardot, while attractive and capable, doesn't resemble the blonde sex bomb she was most frequently seen as. Justice played Sir Lancelot Spratt in one previous Doctor film, and in three later ones, including Doctor in Love, in which Michael Craig briefly took over from Dirk Bogarde in the lead, although not in the same role. Brenda de Banzie also had an important role in Hitchcock's 1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much, and is somewhat wasted in this piffle. George Coulouris plays a drunken sailor and plays it well.

Verdict: Fans of Bardot and/or Bogarde will enjoy this more than others. **.

YOUNG AND WILLING aka THE WILD AND THE WILLING

Virginia Maskell and Ian McShane

YOUNG AND WILLING aka The Wild and the Willing/1962). Director: Ralph Thomas.

"Damn it woman! Lloyds doesn't underwrite everything in life!"

Harry Brown (Ian McShane in his film debut) is a charismatic ladies man at an English college who has a steady girl, Josie (Samantha Eggar of Curtains), but has an affair with the wife, Virginia (Virginia Maskell), of one of his professors, the rather stern Chown (Paul Rogers). Harry is kind to his somewhat geeky roommate, Phil (John Hurt of Alien), and friendly with what appears to be the sole black student on campus, Reggie (Johnny Sekka). Other characters include Sarah (Katherine Woodwille), for whom Phil is carrying a torch, and somewhat snooty Andrew (Jeremy Brett), who was also involved with Virginia. It all leads up to a protracted finale in which Harry gets Phil to help him climb a tower and plant a flag as a prank, an act that leads to tragedy. Young and Willing has its moments, but a lot of it is very predictable. However, the actors are quite good, especially McShane and Maskell, here playing a role very different from hers in Doctor in Love, which was also directed by Ralph Thomas.

Verdict: Some compelling moments and performances. **1/2.