The relationship and possible affair between a young designer and a married executive plays out over a series of lunch hours.The relationship and possible affair between a young designer and a married executive plays out over a series of lunch hours.The relationship and possible affair between a young designer and a married executive plays out over a series of lunch hours.
- Man Sleeping on Park Bench
- (uncredited)
- Sheila
- (uncredited)
- Girl in Cafe'
- (uncredited)
- Sailor on Train
- (uncredited)
- Elderly Gent in Bowler Hat
- (uncredited)
- Restaurant Customer
- (uncredited)
- Man with Boxer Dog
- (uncredited)
- Tramp
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe story started life as a BBC Radio play with Wendy Craig.
- Quotes
Harris: Girls!
Man: What?
Harris: I said, "Girls!"
Man: Oh, yeah.
Harris: They can't spell, they can't type, they make 15 pounds a week, which took me the best part of my life to rise up to, and what use are they? Will you please tell me that, number two? They sit and read their horoscopes all day, they fill their desks with wet towels and flannels and toothpaste, they bung up the toilet with tea leaves, they burst into tears if you so much as mention the fact that they're half an hour late. What earthly use they are, I don't...
Man: Excuse me
[leaves the office]
- ConnectionsFeatured in Talkies: Shirley Anne Field (2019)
It's also the type of film that nobody ever sees unless, like me, you scour the TV listings for obscure items and curios that are normally shown in the early hours of the morning, as this was, when the sort of innocent people that are portrayed in this film (if they still exist) are tucked up in bed and have been asleep for a good few hours.
This is the story of a young man and woman (Robert Stephens and Shirley Anne Field) who meet at the factory where they work and fall in love. Stephens plays an executive which is a job title that clearly flatters his position and Field plays an artist who having recently left art school paints flowers seemingly all day.
The short time they spend alone together is during lunch hours where they are constantly frustrated in their attempts to have a kiss and a cuddle. Stephens' character attempts to solve this problem by booking a hotel room and attempting to avoid suspicion by telling the landlady an assortment of lies. These include Field being his wife who has come down from the North with the kids (who will be looked after by an imaginary aunt) to discuss something very important.
Why he didn't book the same hotel room and use it overnight so they can really get down to the business at hand is never explained.
This is where the film goes really weird and Field's character starts to imagine the whole lie is actually true and visualises having to dealing with noisy crying kids and all the hassle that goes with it. Maybe this is her scary vision of the pressures of marriage and motherhood that will arise if she hangs around this executive chap much longer. Whatever the reason she comes across as an unhinged psycho who Stephens would do well to steer clear of.
It seems such a shame that Field's character goes from a lovely girl with whom any young man would want to spend their lunch hour to a hallucinating crackpot who probably belongs in a straitjacket. Then again you never truly know your beloved until you have spent an hour together in a grubby little hotel room.
- DC1977
- Apr 5, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Victoria Embankment Gardens, London, England, UK(the Girl and the Man talk on a bench)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 4 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1