Otley (film)
| Otley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) British theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Dick Clement |
| Written by | Ian La Frenais Dick Clement |
| Produced by | Bruce Cohn Curtis |
| Starring | Tom Courtenay Romy Schneider |
| Cinematography | Austin Dempster |
| Edited by | Richard Best |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | March 11, 1969 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Otley is a 1969 British comedy thriller film, starring Tom Courtenay and Romy Schneider.[1] It was adapted by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais from a book by Martin Waddell, and released by Colombia Pictures.[2] Film critic Judith Crist described it as "a bright, breezy, light-handed but never lightheaded spies-and-counterspies story".[3]
Outline
Tom Courtenay plays Gerald Arthur "Gerry" Otley, a charming but feckless young drifter who scrapes a living from selling antiques in trendy 1960s London. Gerry's responsibility-free life suddenly takes a serious turn, when he finds himself caught up in a round of murder, espionage and quadruple crossing. He is mistaken for a spy; is kidnapped and detained several times; and becomes romantically involved with a foreign agent (Romy Schneider) working for British Intelligence.
The exterior action takes place in a number of recognisable London locations: the area around Portobello Road street market in Notting Hill; a houseboat colony near Cheyne Walk in Chelsea; Bowater House in Knightsbridge; the Playboy Club in Park Lane; and the old Unilever milk depot in Wood Lane. A wide range of period British vehicles is featured: Otley drives an E-Type Jaguar, a Ford Anglia and an early 1960s passenger coach, and his disastrous driving test, which turns into an epic car chase, involves a driving-school Vauxhall Viva and a Ford Zephyr.
The film, whose interiors were shot at Shepperton Studios, marked the directorial debut of Dick Clement. He and Ian La Frenais, famous at the time for writing The Likely Lads, wrote the script.
Don Partridge co-wrote and performed the title music, "Homeless Bones", which was also released as the B-side of his single "Colour My World" (1969).
Cast
- Tom Courtenay .... Gerald Arthur Otley - "Gerry"
- Romy Schneider .... Imogen
- Alan Badel .... Sir Alec Hadrian
- James Villiers .... Hendrickson
- Leonard Rossiter .... Johnson
- Freddie Jones .... Philip Proudfoot
- Fiona Lewis .... Lin
- James Bolam .... Albert
- James Cossins .... Geffcock
- James Maxwell .... Rollo
- Edward Hardwicke .... Lambert
- Ronald Lacey .... Curtis
- Phyllida Law .... Jean
- Geoffrey Bayldon .... Inspector Hewett
- Frank Middlemass .... Bruce (as Frank Middlemas)
- Barry Fantoni .... Larry
References
- ^ "Otley (1968)".
- ^ Gifford, Denis (1 April 2016). "British Film Catalogue: Two Volume Set - The Fiction Film/The Non-Fiction Film". Routledge – via Google Books.
- ^ Crist, Judith. This Week's Movies. TV Guide, North Carolina Edition, 9–15 December 1972, pg A-4
External links
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