Wednesday 27 January 2016

Lunch Hour (1962* James Hill)

John Mortimer has written (& co-produced) a most interesting, concise film in which delightful designer Shirley Ann Field has no problem at all agreeing to a daytime-only affair with married executive Robert Stephens (both good). Everyone's at it, all around them. Even in the Embankment gardens!

Then she adopts the role he has given about her being his wife from Scarborough (in order to appease annoying hotel manageress Kay Walsh) quite literally (the camera puts her in the family home with chores, kids, etc.) until she effectively bounces Stephens' own infidelity back on him.... And thus that's the end of that.

So quite modern in its editing (Ted Hooker) and treatment (Hill was of Born Free fame) - they would have had the chance to slightly absorb the nouvelle vague I suppose - professionally shot by Wolfgang Suschitzky.

*This is the date on the print we saw though film is always credited as being of 1961 provenance.

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