Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

bkoganbing I remember back in the day the big buzz about The Family Way was it marked the adult film debut of Hayley Mills. After years of doing fresh scrubbed Disney productions, Hayley was going to do an adult role. And the big news was, it was about SEX. But when they went to see The Family Way, what Hayley's fans got was a touching life drama about a pair of newlyweds who can't seem to get the deed done. Hywel Bennett and Mills play the young couple and they are an appealing pair.Bennett and Mills like any other newlyweds would probably just like some privacy, but they can't get any due to family friends, especially Bennett's father who is played by John Mills. This is a most different Mills than what we saw in such films like Great Expectations, Tunes of Glory or Scott of the Antarctic. He's a working class guy from Lancashire, very coarse and rough in his ways, but in the end does show a kind heart.The game plan is for Hayley and Hywel to get married, spend the wedding night at Hywel's place and then take off for a honeymoon trip. What John Mills decides in a really brilliant move is to keep the party from the wedding reception going over at his place. And then Hywel's clod of a boss, Barry Foster, sneaks into the newlyweds room and loosens the screws of the bridal bed. All in the spirit of good clean fun, but it does spoil the moment and Hywel has a performance problem.Hayley's character is not all that different from those she played at Disney. She's a sweet young thing who's showing a bit of understandable sexual frustration. Especially after the newlyweds discover the travel agent absconded with their money along with many others. They're now forced to spend two weeks in the house with Bennett's parents. Doubly frustrating because Bennett's younger brother Murray Head is also around. If you'll remember five years later Murray Head was the lust object of Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson in Sunday Bloody Sunday. He's looking just as yummy in The Family Way.Apart from some brief shots of Hayley Mills's derrière which would not raise a ripple today, there's no nudity, no filming of the deed. In fact if it wasn't that it was Hayley Mills I doubt it would have made any noise even back then.Best performance in the film though is that of Marjorie Rhodes as Bennett's very wise mother. She suspects a problem, but has a great deal of difficulty just persuading her husband to just let things work themselves out. In fact during the course of the film she confesses an ancient indiscretion herself, showing she does understand far more than anyone realizes.Best moment in the film is Liz Fraser delivering a truly terrific put-down to Barry Foster who is her husband after he and Bennett duke it out and Bennett is fired. Has to be seen to be appreciated.The Family Way is one of the best British productions of the Sixties. Paul McCartney wrote the original musical score for the production and the film is shot on location in Lancashire giving it a real feel for the British working class. And it was interesting seeing those Beatle inspired fashions from back in the day.

Peter Lakin The apparently simple storyline of a young couple having difficulty "starting" their marriage is only a cover for the main sub-plot... the question of whether the son (Hywel Bennett) really is John Mills' son, or is the result of an affair in the early days of Mills' marriage. By the film's end we know the truth, as does John Mills, but that truth doesn't alter his devotion to his "son".Paul McCartney's first venture into film music makes wonderful listening in its own right - it's like hearing vintage Beatles, and it should be remembered that although Paul composed the tunes, the actual orchestrations and arrangements were carried out by George Martin, at that time a top executive at Parlophone records, who co-operated with The Beatles on all their hit releases.So many "sympathetic" acting performances in this film, which at times is deeply moving. Marjorie Rhodes, as the ever-patient wife to John Mills - but she also has her own guilt complex to overcome on a daily basis.... she knows the truth behind her family. John Mills, the honest, industrious and yet naive working-class family head. Hayley Mills in her first "grown-up" role, and Hywel Bennett's portrayal of a young man often angry with the world around him, a world that he feels doesn't understand him.In summary, a marvellous film, grossly under-rated - a viewing experience which stands the test of time. The exterior scenes, by the way, were shot in and around Bolton, Lancashire.

noirfilm There is a gem of a scene in this movie when the parents of the newly married couple meet to discuss the newlywed's problem in "getting their marriage started". Somehow the subject gets around to Billy, a fellow who is talked about but does not appear in this film. Although the two fathers are too dense to know it, the audience figures out something important which happened concerning Billy.The closing scene is also great when Ezra Fitton makes two observations which are both sad and funny.

moonspinner55 Young British working-class newlyweds are having trouble consummating their marriage whilst living with the in-laws, and it gets even worse when neighbors start speculating about the groom's "performance". A realistic play on a modern-day situation that is still timeless. The elders in this film are especially amazing, their roles full of dimension, though everyone here excels with the solid, no-frills screenplay. This is one of Hayley Mills' best movies, as she exhibits a strong, self-assured presence and lends nuances to every scene (she's captivating). Paul McCartney contributed the background score, and his main theme is lovely. A fine film. *** from ****