Serious Charge

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. Superb performance from Anthony Quayle, as you would expect, and from the woman playing Hester. The plot is ahead of it's time and not what you'd expect from 1959. The story is a good one, well told, well paced, with excellent performances. The film has aged well, perhaps with the exception of the portrayal of the youngsters which seemed dated and cliched.

However I did smile that the vicar played top level football on a Saturday (the equivalent of today's Premier League) without training during the week, totally unnecessary to the plot and completely unbelievable! Cliff Richard's performance of Living Doll adds curiousity value. Another lost gem from Talking Pictures TV.

Anthony Quayle plays a vicar who somehow manages to combine the role of vicar of a parish and professional footballer.He never seems to be doing any training.The fact that he is not married concerns his mother.She encourages a rather past it Sarah Churchill to make a pass at him.Meantime Quayle seems to have his hands full trying to run a youth club for which he really seems to have no aptitude or empathy whatsoever.He seems to make more enemies than friends.His troubles only begin when he rebuffs the advances made to him by Churchill.From thereon it is all downhill for him.Interesting film which preserves the attitudes of the time.Also little is directly said about the sexuality of Quayle' s character.

Intriguing British drama about a priest, underplayed brilliantly by Anthony Quale, who also is a bit of a local football hero, tries to bring redemption to the local teddy boys, this being 1959, and appears to avoid women like the plague, the implication being, is he gay or not? It all comes to a head when the main thug, played by Andrew Ray, gets a girl pregnant, and after a tragic accident, is confronted by Quale who is then falsely accused of 'interferring' with Ray, a quaint 1950's way of saying he molested him. Sarah Churchill, who is perhaps a bit old for her role, she was in her mid 40's at the time, holds the key to his innocence in the matter and eventually it all plays out but we are left wondering still, was he supposed to be gay or not? I don't think we were meant to really know as it was 1959 and mainstream films only ever dropped hints back then. At one point, Percy Herbert, playing Andrew Ray's violent father says, ' We haven't got one of them in the parish have we?'. Apparently back then, it was alright to beat the hell out of your son with a strap, backed up by the local copper, but not to be gay, clearly a despicable state of being then. Nevertheless, very interesting to compare how things have changed, and I do remember when people thought like this, but best of all, a wonderful performance by Anthony Quale who hold the film together with some otherwise dodgy performances, like Cliff Richard's first acting role.

This was the first film to deal with homosexuality in British cinema, and it is absurd as there is not one homosexual character in it. I say this, and without spoilers, that the Vicar might be, well, repressed but it is all such a muddle I ended up not caring. But disregarding this the acting is not bad and Anthony Quayle, Sarah Churchill and especially Irene Browne are excellent. Irene Browne, the Vicar's mother has the best lines in the film, and her voice alone commands attention. I will just say that the vicar falls into troubled waters and there is an attempt at showing homophobia and the human havoc it can cause. Andrew Ray attempts being convincing as a juvenile delinquent ( very attractive to 1950's audiences ) but of course to be disapproved of. Cliff Richard improbably plays another delinquent and ridiculously stops the film by singing ' Living Doll ' which was a hit at the time. All this sounds as if I do not like watching it, and that is not true. When I feel low I watch it just for the acting, and its enjoyable absurdity. And even Sarah Churchill transforms herself from being prudish, sexually repressed and drab into one of the best ( elegant ) seducers on film. I like watching her in anything. See it and smile and remember that this really is an imitation of life. I give it just 5 because the actors save the film from poor direction and an awful musical soundtrack.

Please don't read any re views with spoilers. The first hour of this film is pretty dull. The second half is something else and worth every minute.

A decent vicar has to contend with a group of bratty teens and an "old maid" who acts like he is the last gas station before the desert and is determined to land him as a husband. One wouldn't think these two situations would converge and get an innocent caring clergyman into serious trouble, but it did. It is rather shocking in fact.

Cliff Richard has a small role in this, but after all his surgeries it is difficult to be sure which character he plays. Also on hand is a busty, flash in the pan French teen actress.

Enjoy watching this poor dolt get out of this pickle!