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13 Aug, 2013
If you're sold on Sellers,we Bijou you welcome to funny film fare of 5os!
A mavellous piece B+W English 50s style filming. You can see the development of Sellers "harassed" character that he played so well in films to come. The little grey man against the odds (see "Battle of the Sexes")
BUT (and here comes the but) the whole film was ruined by the casting of Bill Travers who plays his role as an overgrown schoolboy/scout. He is always yelling, missing the point,saying the obvious until you feel like yelling at him to "Shutit mate!Siddown in front!".His bombastic and crass intrusions into some scenes, spoiled the understated subtle,slightly suggestive humour so beloved by the audience in English drama.
The rest of the cast is marvellous, especially Margaret Rutherford as the "heart" and life of the old theatre.
It could have been another "Cinema Paradiso" but for poor casting, the ghastly soundtrack music and of course the necessity of writing the character of Bill Travers out completely.
My three stars are probably generous; more like two and a half but as a lifetime fan of early Peter Sellers, I awarded a little extra to he and the other stalwarts of the cast for suffering the mistakes of the filmmaker.