Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Scott44 ***User reviewer F Gwynplaine MacIntyre ("Splendid change-of-pace for Sellers", F Gwynplaine MacIntyre from Minffordd, North Wales, 6 February 2003) offers an excellent commentary; he has insight on the accents and other fascinating details. Also, ShadeGrenade from Ambrosia ("Lust for a librarian", ShadeGrenade from Ambrosia, 23 November 2010) provides interesting background about the origin of the play that is unsuccessfully staged.*** "Only Two Can Play," is a real gem; it is a British romantic comedy without any weak moments. The story's central giggle, that an ordinary library in Wales could consistently attract such a cavalcade of attractive women is handled very well. Almost all of the women who appear here are outrageously pretty. This includes the two lead females, Liz (Mai Zetterling) and Jean (Virginia Maskell). Maskell, uncommonly beautiful, portrays a hard-working wife and mother of two who is too tired for sex. Liz, the seducing socialite and home-wrecker is uncommonly fun company as we get to know her.Of course, the star is Peter Sellers (as John Lewis). Sellers delivers an awesome performance, his comic genius and acerbic verbal sparring (particularly with Richard Attenborough's avant-garde playwright, Gareth L. Probert) are both on display. Sidney Gilliat, the film's director, must have had an amazing experience to have directed the young Sellers, as the latter routinely turns common dialog into cinema magic. Sellers simultaneously displays his penchant for slapstick as well as being a believable romantic lead. He should have tried this more often.The story of a marriage in jeopardy is relatively simple. The dialog is often very conversational. The direction is solid. It isn't "laugh out loud" funny until the aftermath of the play. I found John's discovery that the play that he had not actually seen but nevertheless praised as a critic to be really amusing.The Welsh accents that the performers are attempting to adopt as well as some of the cultural references are occasionally difficult for an American audience to follow, but not unforgivably so. The litany of interruptions that prevent John from consummating his affair with Liz are pretty hilarious. Although John is pretty sure which woman he wants at the end, both compete for the audience's love.Virginia Maskell's experiences during this production (i.e., she is excellent but Sellers tried to have her replaced) and afterward (i.e., depression, suicide) are of great interest to many who love this film. We get to watch screen performers knowing what is in store for them. In this way they live forever."Only Two Can Play" is a romantic comedy that most adults will greatly enjoy.

David Traversa This movie is so dated that to watch it nowadays gives you the feeling of watching an early movie, "A Trip to the Moon" --1902-- for example.But "A Trip to the Moon" can be accepted if we place our mind at that time, with that technology, etc. as a museum piece, a curiosity. Not this movie though, where from the initial 1950s title the whole thing is redolent of naphthalene, and that feeling goes on with a sudden close up of Peter Seller (as funny as yesterday morning flat and cold soufflé) and it goes on in a very Kingsley Amis (the author of this book) way, a way as old fashioned as the treatment for this movie.What a turkey! Peter Sellers is totally miscast for this rol, because if we consider that the character, according to the females reaction when seeing him, was an instant turn on, he, obviously, doesn't fit the rol by a long shot (a Sean Connery was needed here).He was SO blah! and the women that were supposed to be bombshells, were totally ruined with that 1950s look --exagerated (ridiculous) pointed bust, waists cinched to death and beehive hairdos-- the only exception being Virginia Maskell (Sellers wife in the movie) a lovely, natural beauty, fortunately without all that paraphernalia that was the last cry for the fashion of that time. Everything is old fashion in this movie, the situations (many of them pathetic), the pacing, the editing, the camera work, the acting. Some comments mentioned "the humor"... I'm flabbergasted... was there humor in this movie? I totally missed it. I don't get it, English movies are usually exceptionally good, but this one in particular is impossibly bad, as bad as Mr. Amis literature.

kennedya-1 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.

kjff This is a terrific example of a number of little English gems that Sellers made before his international stardom as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther. The writing and directing are wonderful as is the great black and white cinematography that captures a dismal Welsh mining town. See it if you can find it.