DOCTOR IN CLOVER is another in the series of British "Doctor" films from the books by Richard Gordon.It was of course never meant to be a cinematic masterwork,and in essence is not much different than the "Carry On" series that was running parallel to this at the time,with smut,innuendo and slapstick laid on like a trowel.The plot is basically just a series a loosely connected incidents and sketches surrounding the amorous adventures of would-be Casanova Dr.Gaston Grimsdyke (Leslie Phillips) and his familiar conflicts with chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice).Inevitably the results of such desultory events are very hit and miss,though one or two surprisingly come off quite well and are helped by a cast of venerable British comedy performers (Joan Sims,Eric Barker,Alfie Bass,Bill Kerr,Fenella Fielding,Norman Vaughan,Terry Scott,Harry Fowler,etc.), some featured in mere cameos, but others in more substantial roles.Phillips isn't too bad as the ageing roué, but most plaudits go to the pompously patrician Justice, who provides most of the best moments.And it's also nice to see some amusing diversions from Arthur Haynes, a now mostly and unjustly forgotten comedian whose untimely death in middle age around the time of the film's release robbed the UK of a much loved TV comic performer, with this being a rare but welcome foray on the big screen.As a relative of Phillips also working in the same hospital, John Fraser struggles to make any kind of comic impact, as does German-French actress Elisabeth Ercy, a pretty but entirely vacuous screen presence which makes it all the more inexplicable that Phillips should spend and waste virtually all of the film's running time pursuing her.
The film's highlight is a (fairly) wild party scene, augmented by the addition of laughing gas and Justice losing his inhibitions after being accidentally injected by Phillips with a concoction that gives him the frisky sensation of youth again.These scenes have a certain likability around them,and contain the only real vestiges of warmth that were exchanged between Phillips and Justice in this series, with Spratt even rather charmingly calling Grimsdyke "Grimmy" on several occasions.
Virtually all of the gags and one-liners on show in the film are generic and hackneyed,with some crude slapstick thrown in-between, though as said before, the reliable comic actors featured manage a few decent chuckles helping to disguise the weakness of the story and script, and Justice has the film's best line after the morning after hangover following the party at home from his bed, asserting to Phillips: "I feel like my head's been trepanned by a boat hook!".
DOCTOR IN CLOVER is an undemanding,easy-going time-passer,never reaching any comic heights but a nostalgia fest for those who like occasionally to go back to less PC comic standards like those of the mid-60's, with pleasant sets and photography,and featured songs by the young Kiki Dee as a bonus.
RATING:5 and a half out of 10.
The film's highlight is a (fairly) wild party scene, augmented by the addition of laughing gas and Justice losing his inhibitions after being accidentally injected by Phillips with a concoction that gives him the frisky sensation of youth again.These scenes have a certain likability around them,and contain the only real vestiges of warmth that were exchanged between Phillips and Justice in this series, with Spratt even rather charmingly calling Grimsdyke "Grimmy" on several occasions.
Virtually all of the gags and one-liners on show in the film are generic and hackneyed,with some crude slapstick thrown in-between, though as said before, the reliable comic actors featured manage a few decent chuckles helping to disguise the weakness of the story and script, and Justice has the film's best line after the morning after hangover following the party at home from his bed, asserting to Phillips: "I feel like my head's been trepanned by a boat hook!".
DOCTOR IN CLOVER is an undemanding,easy-going time-passer,never reaching any comic heights but a nostalgia fest for those who like occasionally to go back to less PC comic standards like those of the mid-60's, with pleasant sets and photography,and featured songs by the young Kiki Dee as a bonus.
RATING:5 and a half out of 10.