TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU (1970) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/1/21

 

Currently watching: TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU (1970) with Hayley Mills and Oliver Reed.

Former child star Hayley Mills was well into adulthood when she starred as school teacher Jenny Bunn, just arrived in town and moving into a boarding house owned by a bickering couple, local political candidate Dick Thompson (John Bird) and his domineering, unhappy wife Martha (Sheila Hancock).

Jenny's roommate, a free-spirited young girl named Anna (Geraldine Sherman), introduces her to a friend, confirmed bachelor and insatiable ladies' man Patrick Standish (Oliver Reed), who takes an instant fancy to Jenny. 

 

Patrick's a fast worker and in no time has Jenny in his apartment to see how far he can go and how fast. Jenny throws a huge roadblock in his path--namely, the fact that she's a virgin (which shocks him) and doesn't want to have sex until it's with someone she loves and who loves her in return.

This, of course, is the spark that ignites the perpetually aroused and resolutely single-minded Patrick's manic attempts to get the reluctant Jenny into bed with him for literally the rest of the film.

So adamant is Jenny's refusal to give in that Hayley and Oliver's scenes together, she standoffish and he bearishly insistent, have an uncomfortable edge to them, as though we can feel her nervous claustrophobia in his overbearing presence.

 

 

This is acerbated by the fact that Oliver Reed was simply a big, overbearing actor, one who was so well cast in the lead role in CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF that we almost expect him to turn into a raging, snarling lycanthrope every time his wishes and desires are thwarted.

Which doesn't happen, thank goodness, although he is, at the very least, a really big pest, a matter that's only aggravated by his mutually sex-obsessed friend Julian (Noel Harrison). Julian is Dick's campaign advisor when not spending his time as an idle playboy in a huge mansion (one that's about to be torn down to make way for a new roadway, which is why he wants Dick elected).

Julian's ultra-casual view of sex makes him a bad influence on Patrick, as does Julian's ultra-amorous spokesmodel girlfriend Wendy (Aimi MacDonald), who oozes pheromones and throws herself at men like a linebacker. 

 

 

Adding fuel to this slow-burning pyre of social anxiety is Julian's other bachelor friend Graham, a romantically needy shlub who takes an unrequited fancy to Jenny. Graham is played by Ronald Lacey (CRUCIBLE OF TERROR, "The Avengers: The Joker") , best known as Gestapo bad guy Toht in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but who in this case is a rather meek and sympathetic little fellow.

With all of these characters repeatedly gathered together at cross purposes and in the most unromantic and emotionally inhospitable social situations one might imagine, TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU is the sort of film that calls itself a comedy but is more like a human demolition derby that we watch in constant apprehension of what will transpire next.

That all this manages to remain rather pleasantly entertaining is a credit to original novel author Kingsley Amis and to Jonathan Miller, a prolific television writer/producer (BBC's "Alice In Wonderland") making his sole feature film as director. 

 

 

 

Miller gives the whole affair enough of a light, casual touch to keep it palatable even though he lacks the sharp visual and verbal wit of a Mike Nichols or Elaine May. He's helped in no small part by a musical score by Stanley Myers (THE DEER HUNTER) which is surprisingly rich and vibrant for a film of this kind and also includes some very catchy pop songs.

Hayley, of course, is a delight throughout, and we can understand why Patrick, the urbanely sleazy Julian, and the rest all end up with their sights on her. What finally happens when she can't put them all off anymore is what makes the slow but reasonably involving TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU worth staying with till the end.

TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU (1970) -- Movie Review by Porfle

DEADLY STRANGERS -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

 

Originally posted on 5/14/21

 

Currently watching: DEADLY STRANGERS (1975), an escaped-killer-on-the-loose thriller with Hayley Mills, Simon Ward, and Sterling Hayden.

Hayley plays a girl running away from a bad situation and Ward is a homicidal psycho who picks her up on the road in his stolen car, whose owner he ran down when he got out to use a pay phone.

Sterling Hayden briefly appears later on as eccentric old rogue who takes a playfully romantic interest in Hayley but then assumes the role of protector when he discovers the identity of her young companion. 

 

 

 

It's a good example of your basic murder-suspense thriller-slash-road picture with a fine cast and very modest production values (according to IMDb, it was originally intended to be part of a TV anthology series), taking place mostly on those bleak old roads way back in the English countryside.

The screenplay is by Philip Levene, who wrote many of the best episodes of the classic TV series "The Avengers" with Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and directed by Sidney Hayers, who worked on that series as well.

Ward's character struggles to maintain a "normal" facade in front of his nervous passenger while eluding the police, having some violent run-ins with local toughs, and even managing to get in an impulsive rape-murder at a gas station without Hayley finding out. There are a few car-chase setpieces that are nicely done.

 

Hayley tries poking some holes in her goody-goody image here by smoking like a chimney and doing a couple of nude scenes. I've been a big fan of hers since I was a kid, and I'm still not sure how I feel about this. Frankly, seeing her with her clothes off just feels wrong to me, especially when it's depicted "Peeping Tom"-style like Norman Bates in PSYCHO.

But seeing Hayley Mills making the most of an adult role, as she also does in such thrillers as TWISTED NERVE and ENDLESS NIGHT, is a treat. And just when you think you've got this movie figured out, and settle back to let it run its course, DEADLY STRANGERS pulls a twist ending on us that sends it off on a delightfully satisfying note.

 

 

DEADLY STRANGERS -- Movie Review by Porfle

THE FAMILY WAY (1966) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

 

Originally posted on 5/23/21

 

Currently watching: THE FAMILY WAY (1966) with Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett. This is my third movie headlined by that particular couple, the others being the suspense thrillers TWISTED NERVE (1968) and ENDLESS NIGHT (1972).

Here, thank goodness, Hywel's "Arthur" isn't a psychotic killer or even an overly disturbed individual. But he does have a problem: his marriage to Jenny (Hayley Mills), a pretty young virgin he's been dating for two years, has a rocky start when their honeymoon vacation package turns out to be a scam and they end up spending the wedding night in Arthur's bedroom in his parents' house, with scarcely any privacy at all.

To make things worse, the reception (also in Mum and Dad's house) is full of tension between Arthur and his father, Ezra Fitton (Hayley's real-life dad, John Mills).  This and other factors add up to make Arthur unable to "perform" with Jenny that night.

 

What seems like a temporary problem at first evolves into a major, ongoing one as their cramped, tightly-knit little village gets wind of the matter and it quickly becomes the hottest gossip item around.

Arthur is hounded by well-meaning busybodies and humiliated by louts such as his boss (Barry Foster, TWISTED NERVE, FRENZY), while Jenny is unfairly blamed for letting the secret slip out and wonders if Arthur's inability to consummate their marriage is her fault.

With the couple under the intense scrutiny of everyone in town and the situation being hashed out by their clumsily concerned parents, the film's cringe factor quickly goes up to eleven and it's anyone's guess where the plot will take us from here.

 

But just then, all of the film's various elements--surprisingly tense drama, deliciously dry humor, rich irony, fascinating characters, and a startling revelation or two--suddenly begin to come together in a way that draws us in and makes us eager to see what happens next.

While Hayley and Hywel turn in just the sort of appealing performances one might expect, it's actually Hayley's dad John Mills and co-star Marjorie Rhodes as Arthur's parents, slow-witted Ezra and long-suffering Lucy, who have the most compelling characters and dialogue.

During one scene in particular, so much is revealed about them and so many past secrets dredged up that for several minutes they become the main focus of the film and we are transfixed by their story.

The supporting cast includes the delightful Liz Fraser (who'd appear that same year on TV's "The Avengers" in the episode "The Girl From AUNTIE") as Barry Foster's wife and actor-singer Murray Head, best known for the hit "One Night In Bangkok", as Arthur's brother, who displays an unhealthy interest in Jenny. Thorley Walters (TWISTED NERVE, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN) also turns up briefly. 

 

 
Of added interest is the fact that the musical score is written by Beatle Paul McCartney and arranged by George Martin. It's pleasant enough but not as noteworthy as one might expect. Paul would later describe it as his first "job of work."

Technically, the film is a modest, competently-done effort with adequate production values, resembling any number of English smalltown comedies/dramas.  Longtime fans of Hayley Mills may be startled by her brief display of rear nudity during an uncomfortable scene with Arthur's brother.

I was unsure what to expect during the first part of THE FAMILY WAY, but soon found myself settling comfortably into this absorbing little film whose simple yet compelling narrative leads to a glowing finale.

THE FAMILY WAY (1966) -- Movie Review by Porfle