Doctor in Distress

The usual formula for this series featuring the urbane Bogarde, the irascible Robertson-Justice and - pardon my political incorrectness - some top notch tottie.

Probably considered quite risque in its time but hardly likely to provoke an "ooh err, missus!" these days, it mostly raises smiles rather than laughs although the odd bits of slapstick made my 7 year old son laugh.

Perhaps the most fun is to be had spotting future starts down the cast list: Richard Briers (The Good Life), John Bluthal (Vicar of Dibley), the uncredited Denise Coffee (Do Not Adjust Your Set), Ronnie Barker (Two Ronnies) and Derek Fowlds (Yes, Minister) are all here, not to mention Frank Finlay (Casanova) and Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey). No Richard Wattis or John Le Mesurier though - they must have been working on 5 other British comedies that week.

I was given this film on DVD as a birthday present, so sat down and gave it a go. I had seen a few of the other Doctor films and thought them gentle, inoffensive but ultimately unfunny. This one is very similar.

James Robertson Justice's irritable surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt is the central character, with Dirk Bogarde as Dr Stephen Sparrow hovering about. It's really James Robertson Justice's performance that makes this film, with his wonderful fruity bark, and seeing him given the chance to show off other sides of his acting ability, coming over as a rather affable chap now and again.

Like a lot of these British comedy films, the plot is wafer-thin, you really have to suspend your disbelief, and ultimately it isn't really very funny at all.

But for me I came away with a satisfied smile on my face, having enjoyed the film for other reasons. The supporting cast is a real who's who of British screen acting, with people like Timothy Bateson, John Bluthal, Donald Houston and many others. Being a fan of Flanders and Swan, it was a nice surprise to see Michael Flanders as the food writer at the health farm.

My favourite scene is at the railway station, where rail buffs can ooh and ahh at British Railways-era carriages and locos, the history buffs at the posters for milk and rail rovers. There's also lots of street shots full of classic British cars, black-and-white striped sign posts and cafés where you can get beans on toast for 10d and fried egg, beans, chips and fried bread for the princely sum of 2/6! Not a great film, you sometimes find yourself pushing the fast forward button. But for James Robertson Justice, and as a kind of time capsule of early 60s Britain it's perfect.

Bogarde returned one final time to the 'Doctor' series for old time's sake to maintain the box office clout he was otherwise happily squandering on his films with Joseph Losey; and the funniest moment in the film is probably the in-joke reference to Bogarde's previous film when Simon Sparrow stands in front of the huge round mirror "gentleman's gentleman" Barrett polished in 'The Servant' (I wonder were it is now?) and his head appears to be on a platter.

The opening credits reveal that Nicholas Phipps was still one of the scriptwriters (although that's hardly a recommendation); but the script was this time only "by arrangement with Richard Gordon", not based on any of his original novels (although that was never much of a recommendation either). Although prettily photographed in Eastmancolor with a huge cast of familiar faces (the tiny handful that are still alive looking heart-breakingly youthful); the reappearance over the final shot of Norrie Paramor's jaunty music from the opening sequence serves simply to remind one of how one's spirits had initially lifted only to be deflated by the dreary hundred minutes you'd then sat through.

Dirk Bogarde stars as a young doctor in this lightweight drama – comedy, light on situations and jokes even for this franchise, as it lacks the rivalry from the other junior doctor, who is absent completely in this film.

Leo McKern as a film producer and Dennis Price as a fashion agent are completed wasted in a subplot that peters out and goes nowhere. Most of the film follows the annoying chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt pursuing a love interest with a physiotherapist which also finishes without a conclusion. Another love interest between Bogarde and a French physiotherapist also ends inconclusively.

It appears the film was made from a number of different plot lines from the book series which the studio didn't complete in order not to require an 18 certificate.

During a stone-laying ceremony for a new wing to the hospital, Sir Lancelot Spratt takes a fall and ends up with a slipped disk making him a patient in his own hospital. Unsurprisingly for such an old curmudgeon, Spratt is as difficult a patient as he is a surgeon and is determined to make life difficult for anyone daring to treat him. However when he is treated by physiotherapist Delia Mallory, he finds himself cured and a tad smitten by her. When he starts sleep-walking he turns to Dr Sparrow, who diagnoses a psychosomatic cause and advises Spratt to turn to Mallory for his cure!

I've never been that bothered by the Doctor series simply because they are a gentle affair that fall below the Carry On series in regards laughs and tone. Here the film focuses on Spratt rather than the usual character Sparrow. The latter is given a rather dull subplot while occasionally getting him to stick his head in with Spratt to keep some vague connection to the main story. This approach is good for those that like the character Spratt, which includes me because I have always found his gruff character a rather nice distraction from the bland humour that it mostly churns out. Although it is nothing special, this does make it quite a light and enjoyable film. The plot is contrived and generally dull but it does have a matinée feel to it that may satisfy some viewers.

Justice naturally dominates the film thanks to the material. He doesn't do anything new or exciting but having a bit of variation to his character seemed to give him something to work with. Bogarde sort of drifts around the edge of the film on his way out. He still has the same touch in his scenes as he always had in the series but for me personally that doesn't mean a great deal. Support is generally wasted from the few familiar faces there are and none of them (including the main female cast members) made enough of an impression on me to even stick in my memory even as far as this paragraph.

Overall this is a light matinée affair that has no real laughs, plot or interest. However this seems to be its intension and, if you like the light, slightly comic touch of the series then I see no reason why you will not like this. For most viewers though I imagine it will be frothy to the pointless of boredom and light to the point of not having a point. Wet Sunday afternoon stuff but will not do much beyond that.