On n'y joue qu'à deux

This is a terrific example of a number of little English gems that Sellers made before his international stardom as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther. The writing and directing are wonderful as is the great black and white cinematography that captures a dismal Welsh mining town. See it if you can find it.

I remember seeing this on late night when I was about 10 and along with The Mouse that Roared turned me into a Peter Sellers fan for life! I really prefer his early British films, although he was great in Strangelove and as Clouseau. I'm Allright, Jack is a particular favorite, along with The Naked Truth, Heavens Above!, The Smallest Show on Earth, and Carleton Browne of the F.O.

This is a sly, personal film about marriage and infidelity and it was nice to see director Mai Zetterling in a role that suited her. With all the blockbuster junk-filled spectacles, there will always be a place for wonderful little films like this.

I was not surprised to see that this movie was based on the black humour of Kingsley Amis. Do not expect from Sellers the slapstick farce of the Pink Panther days or the sparkling multiple personalities of the "Mouse that Roared" or the radio Goon shows. Instead, here is a believable person whose comedy arises from his all-too-human reaction to the situation in which he finds himself.

The "usual suspects" put up fine character performances, there are funny moments enough. If the movie is not quite the comic equal of "I'm All Right Jack", or other Sellers movies of the early 60s, perhaps it is because the comedy and its resolution are a little too conventional to show Sellers at his best. It is still worth watching to see Sellers at his best as a serious actor.

As another comment mentioned, the black-&-white filming is also just right for the subject.

British-made comedy-drama about an unfulfilled Welsh librarian and family man who contemplates having an affair with the library chairman's flirtatious wife. As played by Peter Sellers (in a benign performance earmarked by the actor's charming aloofness), this character is both ridiculous and endearing eyeing the bums and breasts of Welsh's finest femmes, but the kitchen-sink dynamics of the story never really take hold. The film does have something to say about working-class marriages and lives stuck in a rut, but screenwriter Bryan Forbes can't seem to work big laughs into the narrative, and as a result the picture isn't more than faintly amusing. These type of "oh no, my husband's come home!" situations were surely hoary even in 1962, however Sellers has a nice way of turning the hum-drum into sprightly, if low-keyed, human angst; one is drawn to even the smallest gestures on the basis of his charisma alone. Peter has a wonderful moment kissing Mai Zetterling behind a sheer curtain, and a marvelously-observed bit interviewing for a higher position in the library. His talk of jetting off to parts unknown recalls later studies such as "Charlie Bubbles", and the upbeat ending is cute if utterly unrealistic. **1/2 from ****

Having have lived in the Welsh Valleys for a good while a few years ago, I really feel for this poignant, witty and largely forgotten and unknown little drama about a librarian. And his wife and his little 'adventure' on the side.

It's far sweeter than the average English kitchen sink, is superbly adapted from a Kinglsey Amis novel and features an array of familiar faces, from John Le Messieur and Richard Attenborough with Kenneth Griffith as a rather ridiculed and pathetically nerdy fellow librarian.

Peter Sellers is natural, the accent pitch perfect and his wife and family (great little daughter, full of big-eyed mischief & wonder) believable. His foray into an affair is rather glaringly obvious for a close-knit valley town to realistically withstand though I think there's a good balance between 'nudge-nudge, wink-wink' innuendo, which is usually wittily rather than crudely expressed and the more hum-drum, everyday scenes. Comedy is in there, but as a supporting act, so to speak and is nicely done.

Librarians generally get a rather staid and boring label and it would be far too obvious - and wrong - to have a zany character, or Sellers playing one. But, as in any profession, libraries employ different sorts and get all manner of customers.

Overall there's a warmth and freshness that I find endearing, though I might be a little biased. If you get a chance to see it, go for it. Apart from my originally seeing it on UK TV about 6 years ago, I've not seen that it's been shown since and only now have I been reacquainted with it on DVD. You can find it on The Peter Sellers Collection, included with it are I'm Alright Jack and Heaven's Above along with a disc that features a compilation of Seller's best TV work.