Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967 Clive Donner)

 

ITV's Doctor series; suspicious death at 53

Barry Evans,  Judy Geeson, Angela Scoular (OHMSS), Sheila White, Adrienne Posta, Vanessa Howard, Moyra Fraser & Michael Bates (parents), Christopher Timothy, Denholm Elliott, Nicky Henson.

Hunter Davies adapted his own novel.

Alex Thomson (Excalibur) shot it.

You never know if the music in films of this era will be naff; it isn't. Spencer Davis Group / Steve Winwood & Traffic.

Swinging sixties films can be knackering. Constant monologuing, gags, pastiche scenes, jump cutting. This manages to stay engaging. Actually it's a lot of fun and pretty classy, not to say a little poignant (scene where Evans attempts to unzip dress and her bored look must be familiar to just about anyone). I wondered how they did the sound recording of the long tracking shots on a bicycle and guess they must have been post-dubbed (if so, rather well).

Stevenage is distinctly 'modern' (the only old building in the whole film is vinophile Denholm Elliott's house).

I like Spike's reported chat up line "C'mon girl, we haven't got all day." Scenes with book loving mother amusing. Some cuts were originally made. Ending (what's happened to the girls) funny.

Vanessa Howard in trippy Bond pastiche sequence

Evans with Moyra Fraser

Erika Raffael and Denholm Elliott

Angela Scoular, Barry Davies

I think I've fallen in love with Judy Geeson. Her Three into Two Won't Go, with Rod Steiger, unfortunately is not on DVD (except in dodgy iOffer quality). Nor is her 1969 Two Gentlemen Sharing.