The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)

Simply A Masterpiece

Purely Joyful Movie!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The theme of this film,namely a man who has an obsession about redheads was not very original when made.It was particularly common in the forties.Why even The life and death of Colonel Blimp has this as one of its narrative threads. I wonder if the narration by Kenneth More was in the script or added later.It certainlyvdoes little to add to this film.

I confess that my love of the very beautiful redhead Karen Gillan influence me in watching this movie. Wonder if she would be the said redheads in a remake of this movie if one ever gets made in future.The titular man loves redheads as a result of falling in love with one when he was a boy.Throughout his life he sees doppelgangers of this redhead (of course all played by the same redhead Moira Sheara).Included in this movie is a ballet sequence of Sleeping Beauty and a lovely one at that.Although a bit frustrating by what happened in the last scene this has been a very lovely film in this presentation of why, at least for me, the love for redheads is so very beautiful.

This is a film based upon Terence Rattigan's play WHO IS SYLVIA, which in turn takes its title from both the original poem by William Shakespeare and its setting to music as a song by Schubert (a song with which my grandfather, a baritone, won much admiration). Rattigan also wrote the screenplay. This is definitely not one of Rattigan's happier moments. The film is ridiculously dated and corny, bordering on a travesty. The story is a simple one: the 'hero' played by John Justin fell in love at first sight at the age of 14 with a girl named Sylvia who had red hair and blue eyes, but he then lost contact with her. For the rest of his life he cheated on his wife and had a mews house in London for trysts with a succession of redheads who reminded him of Sylvia. Pretty silly, really. Harry Andrews plays a butler, Roland Culver has a jolly time playing a pal of Justin's who does the same sort of thing, though not with redheads, Denholm Elliott plays an earnest young son of the older Justin, and Kenneth More does a lively job of satirical narration (we do not see him). Gladys Cooper comes in towards the end with her usual assured style. It is Moira Shearer, seven years on from THE RED SHOES (1948), who plays all the redheads in succession, culminating in one who is a Russian ballet dancer named Olga. As Olga, we watch a great deal of Shearer dancing SLEEPING BEAUTY. Indeed, so much does the camera dwell on Shearer as a dancer, that one nearly forgets the film entirely. (By the way, the set and costume designs for that ballet production are simply appalling, quite a disaster.) This was the last feature film directed by Harold French, who by the way lived to be 100 and died in 1997. He made the excellent UNPUBLISHED STORY thirteen years earlier (1942, see my review). It is a pity that this film is based entirely upon wholly obsolete social codes of a bygone era, that its comedy is tepid, and that it is just not very good.

As a young man Mark St Neots meets Sylvia at his birthday party, The two share an attraction and he falls for her striking red hair. Many years later both are married to different people and Mark is a successful politician on his way up. However one day he misses his taxi and has to get a bus - on the bus he meets Daphne - who looks just like Sylvia. He takes her to dinner behind his wife's back and gets a way with it. Despite her not being Sylvia this gives him a taste for seeing other women with red hair and he begins a double life with the character Mark Wright.I taped this as the title really caught my eye in the television guide. I watched it unsure of many details and not sure whether it was a farce, a romantic story or what. After about 30 minutes I got the impression that the makers weren't too sure themselves what they wanted it to be. The plot is simply Mark trying to lead this second life as a playboy with a penchant for women with red hair. At the start (his date with Daphne) it is quite a farce and is slightly amusing, however the rest of the film is not as funny and seems to glorify the way that he is running around behind his wife's back. I think they were aware that this was in poor taste and the climax seems to show how foolish he was and how his wife is not in the least upset but more bemused by him.The ending leaves a sour taste as it doesn't work at all. The film clearly wanted a straight ending that would provide a moral and emotional conclusion to the film but this wasn't it. I think the main weakness in the film is simply that it doesn't know what it is aiming for - is it farce? Comedy? Romantic fable? It is unsure and as a result it meanders around several stools. The dullest point is where it throws in over-extended ballet scenes - seemingly to show off the dancer's talents but also to try and fill out the running time.The cast are OK but more interesting in their support. The biggest group of people who will enjoy this film will be fans of Moira Shearer, as she plays all the lead female roles here. She does well and carries off the roles with just enough difference to matter. Justin is OK but is much better in his `first date' scene than he is as a ageing playboy. Culver is amusing as Osacar but not that good. The actors of most interest are those famous for what they did in later years - specifically appearances by a young Denholm Elliot and Melvyn Hayes (It Ain't Half Hot Mum).Overall I didn't know what genre this film would fall into before I watched it and I must admit to be a little unsure after watching it. This lack of one strong direction is it's downfall - while it does have it's moments it is ultimately not that good a film despite it's intriguing title.