Doctor in Love

Things are all change at the hospital when Sir Lancelot Spratt announces his retirement. However Dr Hare is distracted already suffering with illness before being placed on the ward with jaundice. It is here where he meets nurse Sally Nightingale and woes her away from Dr Hinxman – only to have her do a runner with some other man, ditching the both of them. With Hare broken hearted, Dr Burke suggests they head away for a few weeks and decide upon an experimental medical commune testing cold remedies. Of course the fact that two of the other 'guinea pigs' are exotic dancers don't help the two horny doctors abide by the rules, bringing them into conflict with the strict and professional staff.

With this being the fourth film in the Doctor series, nobody can really complain that they don't know what they are getting themselves into. And so it is with the usual mix of flirtatious humour and shambolic plot that this film opens and continues in that fashion. Early on the film establishes that this is about the usual antics of the women-loving doctors, and that's about the lot of the plot. It very much depends on your sense of humour – if you like fairly basic, Carry On type of stuff then you should at least be amused by this. This is not to say that it is inventive or witty, because it isn't and most of it just treads along a fairly ordinary road without really making more than the most basic of efforts. Like another reviewer noted, it makes for a good 'wet Sunday afternoon' film because it is nicely dated and has a comic air to it even if it has few actual laughs. If anything the actual plot (involving Hare) bogs down the film, while the other more bawdry scenes at least have a sense of fun.

In this film in the series Dirk Bogarde stepped out and was replaced temporarily by Michael Craig; suffice to say he cannot really compare with the usual lead. He does his best but he doesn't make a mark – a fact not helped by the collection of very famous British actors that surround him. The usual old cad, Leslie Phillips steals his scenes with his usual performance. Likewise Justice does well with only limited screen time. Sims and Fraser are instantly recognisable but I was never really convinced they were strippers – if they were then they were certainly the least erotic 'erotic dancers' that I've ever seen! The support cast shows the omnipresent John Le Mesurier in a minor role as well as appearances for Nicholas Parsons, Beckwith and a cameo for a young looking Peter Sallis (of Summer Wine and Wallace & Gromit fame).

Overall this is a fairly broad film that never really hits the mark. The plot mixes a story about a sick boy with a load of detached sexual humour and neither of them really got me into the film. Laughs are pretty thin on the ground even if it does have a broadly comic air to it. The cast is impressive on paper but it is only a couple of them that manage to make an impact without much to work with in terms of material (Phillips steals scenes with his usual personae more than scripted lines). The downside of this cast is that the supposed 'lead' is totally lost and becomes the least interesting of all those involved.

No Dirk Bogarde?! Well this Doctor installment is doomed before it even begins. No Sparrow, no Joy - Burke and Hare are adequate, but it's not the same calibre as the last films. Though James Robertson Justice is wonderful, his Lancelot Spratt seems to get better as they go along. His performance in this, as he is about to go under the knife himself, is indescribable, and not to be missed. Priceless comedy! Almost makes up for the silliness of the rest. Another great moment is when he and two young strippers (who have luckily not yet stripped!) burst through a screen showing a great ape and into an auditorium, full of stately old gentleman; who all seem pretty pleased at the disturbance. 6/10

I you are a fan of the British 'Doctor' films, this one is an example of one of the movies without the familiar Dirk Bogarde playing Dr. Sparrow. Instead, this one focuses on two other doctors, Burke and Hare (see IMDb Trivia for more about that)--two screw-ups who spend much of their time chasing women and trying to make a go of it in jobs outside of the hospital. As usual, James Robertson Justice is on hand but Dr. Spratt is seen less in this one because so much of the picture is set outside the hospital.

Like the other Doctor films, this one is a combination of light comedy and drama. A few of the funnier bits involved Burke and Hare hanging out at a research center investigating the common cold as well as Dr. Spratt attending a naughty show when the police make a raid. But the movie also has its touching moments, such as the dying boy. All in all, a very good film but also light and enjoyable as well--more an excellent time-passer than anything else.

This, the third sequel to Doctor In The House, Doctor In Love, sees the temporary absence of Dirk Bogarde's Simon Sparrow (he returned for Doctor In Distress); instead chief medical duties fall to Michael Craig's Doctor Hare, an equally young and inexperienced young Doctor.

In truth, though Craig is a likeable leading man, his role is largely dispensable as the main centre of interest is, (for me anyway) the wonderful comic cast gathered for this movie. You can't help feeling sorry for Craig, as he shares scenes with such great scene-stealers as Leslie Philips (in his `Doctor' debut as the aptly named Doctor Burke), Irene Handle, Joan Sims and Liz Fraser. The last two (together with Philips) were at the time mainstays of the `Carry On' films and help bring a touch of sauce to the proceedings.

Of course, no mention of the cast could ignore the great James Robinson Justice, once again playing Sir Lancelot Spratt. Though off-screen for quite awhile, his scenes are the most memorable of the movie and, as always, he never fails to make me laugh out loud.

Doctor In Love isn't perfect, for example I found it hard to sit through the song that plays through the opening credits without feeling slightly embarrassed (it's awful!). Also you can't fail to notice that there doesn't seem to be any plot to speak of, more a collection of sketches (there is a romantic interest, played by the very lovely Virginia Maskell of Only Two Can Play fame, but she's introduced pretty late in the movie). But these are minor flaws.

It's true that compared to contemporary comedies, Doctor In Love is obviously from a more innocent age, but if your willing to give it a try, it remains perfect Sunday afternoon viewing.

More medical antics in the classic "doctor" series. What plot there is concerns 2 young doctors (Burke & Hare) attempting to drag a quaint old medical practice into the 20th century. Doctor In Love does lose something without Dirk Bogarde, but the wonderful James Robertson Justice "I shall do nothing of the kind!" makes up for it. There were excellent small roles for Joan Sims as a stripper and John le meseruir (I bet I've spelled that wrong?) as an officious doctor who dares to tangle with "Sir Lancelot". The scene where Robertson Justice accidentally finds himself in a strip club and then breaks through into the medical conference next door accompanied by strippers and a gorilla is hilarious. It's a sad coincidence that Virginia Maskell (the new young doctor) and Carole Lesley (Dr Burke's girlfriend) both ended their own lives a few years later. They were both beautiful. Doctor In Love isn't the best in the series (Michael Craig is NO Bogarde) but it's certainly worth watching and made me laugh quite a lot.