Part-Time Wife

Anton Rodgers hasn't sold enough insurance policies. He realizes his army buddy, Kenneth Warren, runs an auto sales/rental shop, and could be a very lucrative client. Warren is working for his uncle, Henry McCarty, who thinks he is married -- he isn't. As it sorts out, Rodger's wife, Nyree Dawn Porter, pretends to be married to Warren. Stuff ensues.

It's one of those sniggering, sexless sex farces the Brits turned out in the 1960s, full of the anxieties of the collapse of morality of the era. I found several things annoying about it, particularly the the twiddly, uncredited score that informs you you're having a good time even when you're not. Also, director Max Varnel doesn't seem to have much of a hand at directing farce, unlike his father. Nominal lead Rodgers is twitchy, but doesn't offer anything in the way of fun; Warren doesn't seem to enjoy his perfidy, and McCarty is far too straightforward. Surprisingly, Nyree Dawn Porter shows a good deal of facility for comedy, full of wide-eyed innocence, only to puncture that with an occasional cynical remark. As a whole, though, I thought it more rote than amusing.