Doctor in Clover

An apple a day keeps the doctor away... Doctor in the House was released in 1954 and promptly became the start of a franchise of Brit comedy films. The quality and standard of each film, a total of seven, varies and will always be a subject of debate among fans. Clover, the 6th offering, isn't particularly great, and minus series regular Dirk Bogarde, it is often painted as the runt of the litter. Yet there are some strengths worthy of time spent with the pic to save it from sequel damnation. Leslie Phillips fronts up as the focal point, he's a randy doctor who as he attempts to go about his fanciful Lothario ways, becomes acutely aware of his advancing years, cue his attempts at looking young. James Robertson Justice is still on hand as the boisterous Sir Lancelot Spratt, while Joan Sims, Fenella Fielding, Arthur Haynes, Shirley Anne Field and John Fraser are filing in for some daft medical shenanigans. It's a bit "Carry On" lite, at times feeling like it's trying to be more risqué than is possible. Yet Fielding and Haynes are super as strong personality patients, Phillips carries the movie with ease, while Justice cuts lose from the gruff persona - to see him have fun courtesy of a dubious serum plot line. Nobody's idea of a British classic, for sure, but fun enough with a G&T on a Sunday afternoon. 6/10

Interestingly, this film is also known as "Carnaby M. D." without any of the characters actually bearing that name. What we do have, though, are the gently comedic hospital antics of "Gaston Grimsdike" (Leslie Philiips) as he attempts to woo nurse "Bancroft" (Shirley Anne Field) whilst simultaneously fixing up his imperious boss "Sir Lancelot Spratt" (James Robertson Justice) with the rather matronly Joan Sims. This film is too long, the jokes are predictable but amusing enough, and the scenarios recycle themselves once too often so after half an hour it is pretty indistinguishable from the other "Doctor" movies. That said, though, the story is still quite engaging in a light and fluffy, harmless, sort of fashion with the women frequently getting the better of the men folks. Probably never a film you would want to watch more than once, but emblematic of the humour that prevailed at the time and as a piece of cinema nostalgia, you could do much worse.

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John Chard

CinemaSerf