Male of the Species (1969)

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I had never heard of this one until a few months ago when Network announced they were releasing it. Hosted by Laurence Olivier it's a very simple yet compelling three part drama focused around Mary MacNeil. The first episode focuses on her relationship with her father (played by Sean Connery) who has a tendency to lie all the time. In the second Michael Caine plays an office Romeo who she tries to teach a lesson to for his ways but it backfires on her when she realises he isn't the slime-ball she thought he was and the third stars Paul Scofield in the role of a smooth talking barrister who manages to woo her.I see there are plenty or reviews on here from people wanting to see this again, well now they can thanks to this release from Network in the U.K.

I also saw Male of the Species once as a teenager and I have never forgotten the movie or how enchanted I was with Michael Caine. I remember it being funny, sad, and terribly romantic. I always wished I could have seen it again. If ever it is released on DVD, run to the nearest store and buy it. I know I will.

This is an excellent film. The cast does interact well with each other and though I was only 16 when I saw it, I have never forgotten it. I, too, would love to own this, but I'm glad that I've at least found others who know and love it as much as I do.

This 1969 TV movie starred Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Paul Scofield, and a female British actress whose name I do not remember. Connery was the father of the young woman and he was a master carpenter. Paul Scofield was a prominent businessman (and perhaps a minor government minister--very distinguished). Michael Caine was a cockney office worker who was somewhat bumbling, awkward, unskilled and appeared to lack a promising future. The movie centers around the young woman and her relationship and interaction with each of the males in the story. Broadcast on public television before VCRs, I stayed home to watch the repeat broadcast two weeks after the original. Each of the males was perfectly cast because their offscreen persona are, in my opinion, very much like the characters they played.I would love to get my hands on a copy of this TV movie and have searched the New York Public Library and the Internet for quite some time. It would be well worth your while to help me find it so you, too, can enjoy this wonderful story.