The Battle of the Sexes

This well-cast adaptation of a classic James Thurber story relocates the action to Edinburgh and offers Peter Sellers one of his best roles as a timid bureaucrat who turns into a man of action when the crusty family firm he works for is threatened by an "efficiency expert" (and a female one at that!). His bumbling attempts to resolve the situation at the climax are a delight whilst co-star Robert Morley is perfect in the sort of role that he was born to play.

There's some fine location work, beautifully shot in black-and-white by Oscar-winning cinematographer Freddie Francis and a late screen appearance by "Doctor Praetorius" himself, the sepulchral Ernest Thesiger.

This one is a lot of fun, wryly funny, not over-produced and, of course, impeccably cast. Sellers was often sabotaged once Hollywood purloined him but here he's in fine form and gives one of his cleverest performances. Robert Morley lends just the right level of support and Constance Cummings makes a formidable opponent to Sellers's mild-mannered Scot. She's extremely funny without being allowed to go too "over the top." Looks like this one is not available on video so catching it on TV will reward those who keep a sharp eye on the broadcast listings.

In order to get her out of their hair, her US employers send powerful businesswoman out to Scotland on some vague mission to investigate export potential. On the way she meets businessman Robert MacPherson who asks for her help to improve the efficiency of his late father's company. The mere suggestion that a woman would be brought into the male dominated company causes panic within the stuffy departments of the company – especially since the sole woman employee only makes tea for the men. Things only get worse when she starts updating the company, suggesting centralised tweed production in a factory, changing filing systems and carrying out time & motion studies. Happily employee Mr Martin is on hand to try and outwit her modernising ways.

In this comedy the plot could easily just involve a man coming into a company because the battle is less one of male versus female and more a matter of old school versus new school where, much I'm Alright Jack, Sellers leads the defence against such action. Looking at it this way the film is much more interesting because it keeps it relevant (nobody likes change) whereas the idea of working for a female boss is no longer the crazy modern idea that it may have once been. The film uses this story reasonably well and produced a few chuckles from me while managing to maintain a consistent amusing tone. The lack of really sharp jokes or big laughs is a bit of a problem though, and it would have been better if the commentary had been sharper and some of the comic sequences had had more laughs but the overall tone is quite nice.

The main reason it is quite funny is the subtle playing of Sellers who is gently amusing and sets the tone well for the material; perhaps not one of his most famous creations but he is enjoyable nonetheless. He is well supported by Morley, who plays the blundering boss with enthusiasm and adds to the comedy. Cummings is quite good and brings out well the manipulative nature of some women – turning on femininity and tears when it suits them; she does this well without being cruel to her sex I thought. The support is mainly good and includes a brief appearance from Donald Pleasence but really the film belongs to Sellers in his quiet role along with Morley and Cummings.

Overall this is not a great film mainly because it lacks a sharp intelligent edge that it could have had and not replacing that with enough broad laughs to do the job. The cast really help and the material is good enough to be roundly amusing and it is worth a look because it is a pleasing little film even if it isn't anything that special or memorable.

When this story inspired by a Thurber story begins, the elderly owner of a Tweed manufacturing company in Edinburgh is on death's door. And, after he passes, his foolish son, Robert Macpherson (Robert Morley) takes over the practically destroys the company. This is because he's met an obnoxious know-it-all woman (Constance Cummings) and she is intent on shaking things up at the company...even though things seem to be working just fine. But Robert is blind to how destructive and costly the changes are....as well as he plans to fire most of the employees and mechanize. But his trusted employee, Mr. Martin (Peter Sellers), clearly sees the damage this woman is doing....and he plans to take care of her himself...for the good of the company.

I had a laugh watching this film, as I can see what many Brits see when they see Americans playing Brits....clumsy accents and overdoing it a bit when it came to British actors pretending to be Americans (in particular, Ms. Cummings and Donald Pleasence). This doesn't really harm the film...but it is funny seeing how Americans are portrayed. I am not sure if some 21st century viewers will laugh at Cummings' character, however, as she could be interpreted (possibly) as an anti-feminist character....a lady who wants to take over the male-dominated industry. I didn't take it this way...more that this particular woman was obnoxious and awful!

Overall, this is a cute little comedy and one of Peter Sellers' most forgotten roles. He's lovely as the 60-something employee and plays him with great subtlety (he is no Dr. Strangelove!). Cute and enjoyable...and well worth seeing.

Peter Sellers could do just about anything and this film helped to prove that fact. With some white hair, a moustache, and spectacles, you thoroughly believe his transformation into Mr. Martin, a character at least twenty-five years older than the actor was at the time.

Although the title sounds like a sex romp, that's not the right description of this clever comedy with a somewhat dark theme. But BATTLE OF THE SEXES is about a power struggle between a man and woman. Martin is the faithful manager at the House of MacPherson, a Scottish firm that's been turning out tweed the same way for decades. When the new heir (Robert Morley) takes over, he brings in a domineering efficiency expert (Constance Cummings), an American no less, whose ideas threaten to ruin the company.

Martin is forced to act. While he seems like a quiet and unassuming sort, he actually has a lot of guile and cunning beneath his mild-mannered exterior. First he tries to get her fired, but when that doesn't work he decides that more drastic measures are called for - like murder. Martin comes up with what he believes is the perfect plan, and all he has to do is carry it out.

Do yourself a favor and watch it all unfold. Entertaining from start to finish, hilarious in several places, with a good supporting cast, and a plot that has a couple of surprises in store. Sellers proves yet again that he's a true comic genius. Three cheers for that, and four stars out of five for the film.