Otley, héroe sin lecho

'Otley' is a definite film of its time, showing swinging 60s London and presenting Tom Courtenay in one of his defining but less-known roles, as someone who wants to be a spy but wonders what he's got into when he gets his wish. Otley is an inept spy, and was probably an even more inept drifter.

Full of colour, with a great score, and many fruity cameos, this film should be better known as it is a lot of fun, with a great central performance and the chance to get really engrossed in the period. Courtenay and Romy Schneider are charming, while character greats such as Leonard Rossiter, Alan Badel, and Freddie Jones add to the overall spoof feel.

Sir Tom Courtenay stars in this amiable British spoof of spy films, playing Gerald Arthur Otley. Otley is a rather shiftless young man who's evicted from his apartment in the opening minutes. After a party, he spends the night at the residence of an acquaintance, Lambert (Edward Hardwicke). During the night, Lambert is murdered, and Otley wakes up the next morning in a field by an airport. It's because Otley had pocketed a seemingly meaningless item in Lamberts' household that he now becomes enmeshed in the schemes of various characters who are quite shifty themselves.

Courtenay and the lovely Romy Schneider do a fine job of anchoring this tale. He's in fine form as an ordinary man caught up in extraordinary circumstances, yet he handles things as well as he possibly can - while also making humorous comments on the situation. He and she lead a superb British cast also including Alan Badel, James Villiers, Leonard Rossiter, James Bolam, Fiona Lewis, Freddie Jones, James Cossins, Ronald Lacey, Phyllida Law (mother of actress Emma Thompson), Geoffrey Bayldon, and Frank Middlemass. Young Damian Harris, the son of actor Richard Harris, plays the bratty Miles; he would grow up to become a director of movies such as "The Rachel Papers", "Deceived", and "Bad Company". The sequence with top character actor Cossins as a driving instructor is far and away the best in the movie, as Otley does everything possible to evade some pursuers while he is taking his driving test!

As for the rest, it benefits from its "London in the swinging 60s" setting, as well as its amusingly convoluted plot and enough genuine laughs to make it reasonable entertainment. One good thing: it clocks in at an agreeable 91 minutes, so it doesn't go on any longer than necessary.

Scripted by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais, the screenwriters whose credits include things like "Vice Versa", "The Commitments", and "Still Crazy", from a novel by Martin Waddell. Clement also doubles as director here.

Seven out of 10.

Otley contains several inspired scenes with Tom Coutenay at his most outrageous. But, the bad scenes outweigh these moments of inspiration. This is especially true whenever Freddie Jones appears on camera to take over proceedings. His first appearance inspires guffaws. But his relentless clowning grows quickly tedious.

Interesting little gem from the swinging sixties. Tom Courtney plays Otley, a down-on-his-luck antiques dealer in the Portobello Road in this comedy spy thriller.

He's kicked out of his digs after he's gone past his sell-by date in terms of the attentions of his randy landlady because he can't pay his way and is forced to go from friend to friend at a party in order to be put up for the night.

Otley manages to reel in a favour from one of his friends, but blunders into a spy plot when that friend is murdered in the flat and Otley is forced on the run. Otley has little aptitiude for anything but antiques and even this ability has to be questioned considering his circumstances.

The plot meanders continuously and is a little confusing but is of little consequence. We are not meant to focus too much on it, because the film centres on how this hapless bungler manages to squirm free from one episode to another whilst we enjoy the scenery. A high point of the film is when he goes to take his driving test which turns into a car chase with some villains around the backstreets of London.

The supporting cast contains some good character actors and includes Leonard Rossiter playing a hitman. Romy Schneider plays the femme fatale, but is curiously underused. An enjoyable 'sub-sub-Bond' adventure if you don't expect too much.

Of all the spy spoofs that were set off by the James Bond films in the 60's, this was just about the best. Over 40 years later it's still witty with beautifully observed characters, great locations, and a suspenseful story. To top it off, it has a catchy title song that captures the spirit of the hero perfectly.

Gerald Arthur Otley is a likely lad. He's an opportunistic, occasional antiques dealer - he has sold his landlady's furniture - who gets by on his wits and his way with the ladies. However things get out of control when he becomes involved in an espionage plot.

He is kidnapped twice and meets some interesting but dangerous people including a female agent, Imogen, played by beautiful and enigmatic Romy Schneider. "Imogen", he exclaims when she first tells him her name, "It sounds like something you put on cut knees". He also meets Johnson, a hit man played by Leonard Rossiter whose light-heartedness about his work belies a merciless nature.

Director Dick Clement gave the film a light touch, and Tom Courtney reveals a flair for comedy where a look says a lot. The film is almost a cross between "Alfie" and "Arabesque", but works far better than just about all the spy spoofs that hit like a tsunami in the 1960s.

The film has a serious side and there is an element of danger for Otley; likable as he is, his survival is not a forgone conclusion. Although he is a bit of a loser, his luck holds up despite his relationships with women seeming always to be of short duration. His parting with Imogen at the end after their brief affair sums it up; when he asks if he can see her again, she answers, "Don't be silly", and drives away.

The film is also something of a time capsule. Like "Goodbye Gemini" made around the same time, the background of the film captures not only the look of the times - the hairstyles, the clothes and the cars - but also the mood, including Otley's casual day-to-day approach to life.

Along with great shots of late 60's Portobello Road and other London locations, the film has a score by the eclectic Stanley Myers. The song "Homeless bones" co-written and sung by busker Don Partridge, adds the right touch to a film that works beautifully on many levels.