Ceticultsot
Beautiful, moving film.
FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Justina
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
preppy-3
This takes place in Victorian England. It deals with four lusty men and their attempts to have sex. The plots were hard to follow (the thick English accents didn't help) but I THINK I figured them out. Shaftoe (Tom Bell) is lusting after virginal sweet Hilaret (Sussannah York). Lusty (Jim Dale) is after Cloris (Elaine Taylor) by posing as Lord Foppington (Christopher Plummer) to get her money...and sex. Rambles (Ian Bannen) is basically going after any woman he sees.The jokes are sexually crude enough to make Benny Hill blush...but they're actually more silly today than anything else. It's really hard to believe this got an R rating back in 1969. There's no nudity, sex, swearing or violence--just a lot of sex talk that wouldn't raise an eyebrow today. In fact TCM played it on afternoon TV recently! This is not a good movie (far from it) but it does have its moments and it is amusing to see Plummer play it WAY over the top as Lord Foppington. I kept having to remind myself that this was the same man who did Shakespeare on stage! Actually all the acting is good and has people going full tilt with many asides to the camera. No one is really bad but some are very good--Glynis Johns goes full tilt as Mrs. Sqeezum, Ian Bannen is having the time of his life playing Rambles and Jim Dale hams it up nonstop. Also this was a pretty big budget movie--it shows an accurate portrayal of how grubby and dirty England was back then (even though it was shot in Ireland!). So this isn't a good movie but has enough moments to take a look at.
Tony Rome
I saw this film 12 years ago on TNT. It was Susanah York's Birthday and they were showing this film as a double feature with Tom Jones (1963). I have not seen this film on TV since. I took interest in seeing this film because one of the stars is the very funny and talented Jim Dale, as Lusty the sailor. I believe that Dale now does the narration of the Harry Potter books on Casette, but anyway he is quite funny. This is a fast paced comedy. It is not on VHS or DVD. Columbia Pictures should go through their film collection, and consider restoring and releasing this film to DVD. Christopher Plummer is hilarious as Lord Fopington, Ian Bannen is also quite humorous as Ramble the sailor. This is a bawdy comedy, the kind of film one no longer sees, with great production values. ***1/2 stars out of ****
Vaughan Birbeck
I saw this film on TV and have waited thirty years to see it again. For me, it is one of the most under-rated films of all time.Why isn't it more appreciated? Perhaps because you have to listen to the dialogue (which is also 18th Century speech, not Shakespeare but far from modern), or keep track of at least three main plots. This is not a simple 'romp', it is based on work by Vanbrugh and Fielding.The script is literate and witty, but the overall theme is - sex. In pre-Victorian England, the desire for sexual fulfilment is regarded as a healthy and natural part of life. Men want it, women want it, and they'll do anything to get it.The film is performed by a great cast. I defy anyone to recognise Christopher Plummer as Foppington under the make-up, wig and costumes. There's one scene where he is hilarious simply getting up out of a chair, as unsteady as a new born deer. After making love for the first time, he explains that he has a servant to do that sort of thing for him.The rest of the cast is filled with marvellous character actors: Georgia Brown, Jim Dale, Roy Kinnear, Kathleen Harrison, Roy Dotrice, Glynis Johns, Peter Bayliss and Fenella Fielding. Not big names, perhaps, but they fill their roles to perfection. So my advice is: watch the film with care, more than once, to get the flavour of the dialogue, then enjoy the free-spirited age that is brought to life for you.And, by the way, it's the *fourth* rung that's missing...
munson-2
I reviewed this movie when it was released in 1969. At that time I thought it was absolutely rib-splitting. It deals mainly with the attempts of an English Fop (we're talking the 1700's here) to maintain the chastity of his daughters. It is ribald fare and the comedy a bit along the lines of TOM JONES, but it is worth the price of admission just to see this father, fake cheek mole plopped in place, his finery and lace cuffs set just so, rush from situtation to situation in little prig-ish strides.I would love to see it released on Video.
