Alfie Darling

I bought this film for its curiosity value as a belated, little known sequel to the 60's classic that established Michael Caine as an international star.

As the film progressed, I found myself becoming curious about a number of other things:

If the film is close at all to the source material, then why did the author, Bill Naughton, have Alfie revert to his old tricks when he had obviously learnt a painful lesson and finally grown up at the end of the first story?

Was the character/personality of Alfie totally transformed in the new story by Naughton or by the bizarre casting of a third rate actor who should have stuck with being a second rate musician?

Why did those responsible for this decision choose a Geordie who can't act to take on a role that remains synonymous with probably the world's most famous Cockney? A Geordie who, in fact, was unproven having never before played a significant role on screen and had none of the charm or charisma that is an essential ingredient of the central character's appeal.

If Alfie is such a master of seduction, why does he constantly make childish sexual comments like a schoolboy trying to convince his friends that he's lost his virginity?

Why was the bizarre mating ritual car chase included when it seems so artificial and contrived? I'll attempt to answer this one. Maybe there was a preview screening and the unanimous feedback was 'Good film, well done! Stick in a car chase and you may have an Oscar contender on your hands...'

What was the thinking behind the unnecessary 'tragic' ending? Was it an attempt to match the gravitas of the first film or to establish Alfie as a man who behind the shallow exterior has feelings like the rest of us?

Does the quality of the film justify the time it would take to consider these points?

No.

Does it justify the few minutes I have spent writing about it?

Probably not, unless it persuades those that read this review not to make the same mistake I did i.e. allow their curiosity to get the better of them and end up buying a film they will watch once and never want to see again.

P.S. The kind of people (like scarecrow-14) who dismiss as 'idiotic' any comment they disagree with say far more about themselves than they will ever do about the people they are trying to criticise.

The argument for Alan Price NOT being a second rate musician is that he is right up there with Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum.

In their 43 year career, how many number 1's did Procol Harum have in the UK singles' charts?

The answer is...

The same as the number of times I will watch Alfie Darling.

Alan Price takes the title role in this sequel. Anyway the cast included a young Joan Collins; Rula Lenska; Vicki Michelle and Annie Ross as well. He falls for a magazine journalist while traveling to France. He doesn't give up on this conquest. I love the film location sequences between France and England. Scottish American actress and singer, Annie Ross, has some memorable scenes as well. I didn't care for the ending.

This is a pointless sequel to a classic sixties film. It features a leading man who can't act of a character who would today end up in jail for sexual harassment. Its cheap and nasty and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Not surprisingly this was Price's last feature film. He should have stuck to the music.

This movie from 1975 is a sequel to the very successful original 'Alfie' which was released in 1966. That film starred Michael Caine as the Cockney wide-boy 'bedding birds' around 1960's London. In this follow-up that character Alfie Elkins is now played by Alan Price and he is now a long-distance trans-European HGV driver. The setting is now 1970's London and France. This film is nowhere near as good as the original, the real problem lies with the fact that Alan Price is a far better musician than he is an actor. His acting was passable in 'Oh Lucky Man' but here – in the lead role – his monotonous Geordie monotone begins to grate over the course of the 90-minute film. However he is still chasing the women and a number of faces crop up in this film who went on to achieve greater fame elsewhere. That's the real fun in this movie – watching out for them - I'm sure many of them regretted their appearance here in retrospect! First his cab-mate/co-driver is played by Paul Copley, seen here as a slim and long-haired 20-something. And despite the genre of this film he keeps his clothes on throughout – interesting as U.K. viewers saw him recently in an episode of the TV series 'Shameless' in an extended full-frontal scene. Paul is now of course middle-aged with considerably less hair but more lard around his stomach! Not a pretty sight. Also appearing as one of Alfie's birds is Vicki Michelle (her appearance spans the opening titles). Her topless scene here features her as an English teacher in France. She later became famous of course as Yvette in the BBC's 'Allo Allo' comedy series, playing a French waitress trying to speak English! Another of Alfie's girls is played by Joan Collins, again another topless scene several years before her Stud/Bitch 'disco' movie money-spinners. And then there is Rula Lenska in another topless scene , she is a star of many movies and TV plays shown here in U.K. And Sheila White, a couple of years before her supporting role as Rosie Noggett in the 'Confessions' movies. Also the lovely Hannah Gordon – sadly fully clothed here throughout though! Her daughter is played by Patsy Kensit making a VERY young (and dentally-challenged) appearance here. Brian Wilde crops up as a doctor, before his many years playing Foggy in the long-running BBC comedy series 'Last of the Summer Wine'. Annie Ross also appears as yet another girlfriend – again topless. However the main attention of Alfie's desires throughout this film is Abby Summers, played by Jill Townsend, who went on to play Elizabeth in the 'Poldark' TV series. Alfie pursues her in France, in her London office and eventually via a car-chase which features jumps and speeded-up film – like something out of 'Dukes of Hazzard' in fact. As she is driving a compact Triumph Spitfire and he is driving a large American V8 convertible (I believe it's a Pontiac Firebird - could any U.S reviewer please confirm) he does of course catch up with her. They begin a relationship but there is a twist at the end which I won't reveal here as no spoilers! In summary, this is an average film, quite watchable, but ultimately a sad sequel to its far superior predecessor.

Nearly a decade after Michael Caine's womanizing "Alfie" (1966) took the English-speaking world by storm, the cocky Cockney returned in the form of animalistic Alan Price. This time he's a trucker, communing from woman to woman, with partner Paul Copley (as Bakey). As expected, "Alfie Darling" gets bitten by the commitment bug, this time in the form of Jill Townsend (as Abby Summers). This film has some similarities to the later "Alfie" (2004), starring Jude Law (eg Mr. Copley and his girlfriend).

Mr. Price, the rock musician who worked so memorably with Eric Burdon and "The Animals" (as well as on his own), hasn't the "fourth wall" cheekiness of Caine, but he and director Ken Hughes makes this "Alfie Darling" sexier than the other two, with a greater emphasis on female flesh. A version for television cut out all the naughty bits, so look around. Also missing is an ending which, while a real downer, makes the trimmed version inconsequential; originally, it felt like a castration. Take your pick.

***** Alfie Darling (1975) Ken Hughes ~ Alan Price, Jill Townsend, Paul Copley, Joan Collins