The Battle of the Sexes

The Battle of the Sexes is directed by Charles Crichton (The Lavender Hill Mob/ The Titfield Thunderbolt) and it stars Peter Sellers, Robert Morley & Constance Cummings. It's based on the short story The Catbird Seat written by James Thurber, with the script written by Monja Danischewsky.

The grand House of MacPherson in Scotland has been supplying genuine Scottish tweeds for many years. Tho Woven out in the sticks by the professionals, the tweeds are sold out of the Macpherson HQ in Edinburgh. When Old MacPherson (Ernest Thesiger) dies, his son, Young MacPherson (Morley), takes over but is hardly blessed with business acumen. Things start to get dicey when he brings in Angela Barrows (Cummings) as an efficiency expert, an American lady he met on the train. The ageing staff, led by Mr. Martin (Sellers), is horrified as she starts updating the methods of running a business. To their minds a woman is for making the tea and cleaning up, not for doing away with hundreds of years of tradition with new fangled contraptions and ideas. However, Mr. Martin hatches a plan to rid the company of this meddlesome modern tyrant.

Something of an unknown British comedy featuring the great Peter Sellers, The Battle of The Sexes sees him teamed with Crichton to deliver a smart and very funny piece. The film is dealing in cultural clashes and the battle is not just of the sexes, but also a poignant conflict between the advent of time and its impact on business'. Arcane traditionalists versus the forward thinking modern capitalist: or if you like? British custom versus American progress. Both played superbly by Sellers; as the calm and unhurried Mr. Martin; and Cummings as the get up and at em quickly Angela Barrows. Danischewsky's script is very impressive given that the source was very slight, and Crichton has done wonders to not let the film descend into slapstick or out of place screwball. Much like Mr. Martin, the comedy is very sedate, unhurried or forced. There's some farce in there, with one chase sequence in Angela's apartment wonderfully constructed, but the film never gets out of control and it's all the better for it. As the two rivals try to outwit each other, this brings Morley's (great as usual) oblivious Young Mac into play. The result is a three pronged character piece deserving of a bigger audience. 8/10

Mr. Martin is a clerk at a Scottish Tweed weaving company.Then one day a creature called woman starts talking about all these changes they should make in the company.He has a little problem with that.The Battle of the Sexes (1959) is directed by Charles Crichton.It's based on the short story The Catbird Seat by the great humorist James Thurber from 1942.Peter Sellers is quite excellent as Mr. Martin.He obviously wasn't an old man when he did this film, but he certainly seems that way.He's nailed the gestures and all perfectly.Robert Morley is terrific as Robert Macpherson.Constance Cummings does brilliant work as Angela Barrows.Donald Pleasence is great as Irwin Hoffman.This is a pretty funny comedy, although it's not the best Peter Sellers starred in.The funniest sequence must be when he goes out to kill the lady.For Peter Sellers fans this is one not to be missed.

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.

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.

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.