Doctor at Large [VHS]

VCI Entertainment and The Rank Collection presents "DOCTOR AT LARGE" (1957) (98 min/Color) -- Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Donald Sinden, Muriel Pavlow, James Robertson Justice, Shirley Eaton, Derek Farr, Michael Medwin, George Coulouris, Anne Heywood, Lionel Jeffries, Mervyn Johns, Ernest Thesiger

Directed by: Ralph Thomas

VCI has restored and brought from their vaults another great film from the British Invasion.

James Robertson Justice is at his acerbic best in this installment, and it's great to see Joy (Muriel Pavlow) make a welcome return.
and the predicaments Dirk Bogarde gets himself into in the rural practitioners are hilarious.

'Doctor At Large' sees the series go back to their basics, with a return to St Swithin's and a reunion with all the main cast of 'Doctor In The House' (with the single exception of Kenneth More).

Without much plot, this is a light film, except that Simon comes up against Benskin (Donald Sinden), his rival at St. Swithins, who gets the position that Sparrow wanted. It's humorous without being riotous.

Check out the scene where Simon and Nan McPherson (Shirley Eaton) stay overnight at an inn. The proprietress puts them on different floors, and when Simon attempts to sneak downstairs into Nan's room, the woman comes out into the hall. "I was looking for the bathroom," he says. "It's on your floor," she says. "The door is marked 'Bathroom.'" Then she sits in the hall, thus thwarting further attempts.

Though not as good as the first (Doctor In The House), but much better than the second,

Doctor In The House was so successful that it spawned not only six sequels, but also a television spin-off.

Richard Gordon: The author of the original books (and of the screenplay here) is on screen hidden behind the anesthetist's mask in the "patient wakes up" scene. Gordon did the job in real life before turning to writing.

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 1957 Nominated Crystal Globe (Ralph Thomas)

For product description and editorial review check this out on the Amazon site above my review

SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES:
1. Commentary with Muriel Pavlow and Donald Sinden
2. Photo Gallery

BIOS:
1. Ralph Thomas (Director)
Date of Birth: 10 August 1915 - Hull, Yorkshire, England, UK
Date of Death: 17 March 2001 - London, England, UK

2. Dirk Bogarde [aka: Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde]
Date of Birth: 28 March 1921 - Hampstead, London, England, UK
Date of Death: 8 May 1999 - Chelsea, London, England, UK

3. James Robertson Justice [aka: James Norval Harald Justice]
Date of Birth: 15 June 1907 - Lewisham, London, England, UK
Date of Death: 2 July 1975 - Winchester, Hampshire, England, UK

4. Muriel Pavlow
Date of Birth: 27 June 1921 - Leigh, England, UK

5. Donald Sinden [aka: Donald Alfred Sinden]
Date of Birth: 9 October 1923, Plymouth, Devon, England, UK

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 98 min on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment #8662 ~ (August 2, 2011)

Doctor at Large represents a typical light-hearted British comedy of the 1950s: Plenty of banter, lots of tomfoolery between the sexes, and a slew of comical episodes connected only by the barest of plots. It is all quite delightful and amusing, if not particularly sophisticated. This particular genre of films continued with a number of additions to the Doctor series, and is kind of a precursor to the Carry On films, which managed to take the level of humour down a couple of notches further.

Afficianados will take great pleasure in the supporting cast, which is positively overflowing with familiar names and faces from British films.