Doctor in Clover

By this time the Doctor films were using the Carry-On scripts. It's all very familiar and features a lot of Carry-On regulars, including Terry Scott as a gay hairdresser. The series had also lost the edge of the original Bogarde films, this being very much more slapstick. It's nice to see Robertson Justice reprising his role, but his character has now become a parady figure of fun. The popular "swinging sixties" element gets into the film here as there is references to Carnaby Street and girls in mini-skirts, coupled with a repetitive pop tune of the era. Leslie Phillips is good though and settles into the role of a charming, but bungling cad with ease. I would like to know why during the end credits the film suddenly goes into rewind. It strikes me as very odd.

DOCTOR IN CLOVER

This is an old British comedy that is trying it's best to be a Carry On film, but failing.

The movie is about a doctor, Dr. Grimsdyke, who gets fired from his job as a prison doctor. He gets a job being retrained at a hospital where his cousin works. The problem is, he is looking for love instead on concentrating on his studies. He is a bit of a ladies man, but when he has his heart set on a nurse that is not interested, he will do anything he can to get with her… even if it means screwing over her fiancé.

The film is funny in places, and it does have that classic British comedy feel to it, but the characters were trying too hard to copy the legendary Carry On films. The comedy and the punch lines were very similar to them and the characters even had the same characteristics. The problem is, it just wasn't as funny as the Carry Ons.

There are a few Carry On actors in it though, which makes it feel like one even more. The main character, Dr. Grimsdyke, is played by Leslie Phillips. Leslie has appeared in a couple of Carry On films before making this, but in this he has a lead role which is what I suppose attracted him to it. He did a good job, but unfortunately, he was carrying this film. The rest of the cast seemed like they were not acting in their own style. One of the main patient characters was clearly trying to be Sid James, but failing. Every time he was on the screen you could just see he was imitating Sid. Other Carry On faces that were in this were Joan Sims. Joan played the Matron of the hospital. She did a good job also, but I struggled to see her as the feisty Matron that she was playing. She has a face and personality that is better played as a nice person. Terry Scott also made a short appearance. He was funny. It was s shame that he was not in it that much. James Robertson Justice was a great actor. He was one of my favourite characters in this movie.

Some of the things Dr. Grimsdyke does to get the girl is funny… and very slapstick. They did make me laugh. I was surprised that Leslie didn't say his "ding dong" catchphrase in the film. Seeing as he was playing a ladies man I would have thought they would have put that in the script. But he did say "Hello" in his famous way. J

This film was good, but it would have been better if it was not trying too hard to be something it wasn't. This is the sixth Doctor movie in a series of films… and from what I have heard, the earlier ones are funnier. I will watch them if they are on TV, but I didn't know this was part of a series until I watched it. I do wish that I watched them in order though.

I will give this film 6 out of 10.

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The sixth movie in the long-running "Doctor" comedy series sees the format begin to show it's age. The series, which had by now ran for over twelve years has now more or less lost it's direction. In place of Dirk Bogarde's Simon Sparrow we have Leslie Phillips,who does his best with a script which abandons the wit of the earlier movies and replaces it with second-rate slapstick.

Once again James Robertson Justice's Lancalot Spratt is the main reason to watch this movie, but the sub-plot (Spratt clashes with Matron Joan Sims, over his pet parrot)is possibly the weakest of the series and JRJ has all too few scenes.

Compared to the Carry On's which were now hitting their peak, this movie seems jaded, lacking laughs as well as looking cheap. It's watchable enough, thanks to the efforts of the cast, but should have been far funnier.

Having watched this again recently after many years, I was pleasantly surprised. It was silly and good natured with some genuine laughs.

Headed by the generally under rated Leslie Phillips and with some amusing support turns by Fenella Fielding and Arthur Haynes. The latter was said to be a huge radio and TV star of the time, but now almost totally forgotten. Worth noting also the catchy Kiki Dee theme song.

Ok it is formulaic and wouldn't make anyone's greatest film lists, but it left me with a smile on my face and sometimes that is good enough.

Crassly retitled 'Carnaby, M.D.' in the United States; with a couple of songs by Kiki Dee to bring Richard Gordon's creation into the swinging sixties. With Leslie Phillips in the lead the slide of the Doctor films into another 'Carry On' series was complete.

When I first saw this movie in 1976 I was very impressed by the actor who played Tarquin Wendover and was shocked to learn he died the same year it was released (the stay in hospital presumably hadn't done him any good). That marked my introduction to Arthur Haynes; whose presence in this otherwise thoroughly unnecessary film justifies it's existence.