Alfie Darling

This film is a curiosity only, though quite entertaining and enjoyable in parts...it really doesn't compare with the original Alfie on any level. Still, great to see the wonderful Paul Copley with so much hair! Mainly I've written to challenge the ludicrous assertion by "reviewer" DC1977 that Alan Price is "a second rate musician". He wasn't much of an actor, sure, but as a founder member of The Animals, he's one of the greatest rock organists to come out of the sixties, right up there with Matthew Fisher from Procol Harum, Jon Lord from Deep Purple and Goldy McJohn from Steppenwolf. DC1977s comment is, quite simply, idiotic. Thankyou, and goodnight!

This movie from 1975 is a sequel to the very successful original 'Alfie' which was released in 1966. That film starred Michael Caine as the Cockney wide-boy 'bedding birds' around 1960's London. In this follow-up that character Alfie Elkins is now played by Alan Price and he is now a long-distance trans-European HGV driver. The setting is now 1970's London and France. This film is nowhere near as good as the original, the real problem lies with the fact that Alan Price is a far better musician than he is an actor. His acting was passable in 'Oh Lucky Man' but here – in the lead role – his monotonous Geordie monotone begins to grate over the course of the 90-minute film. However he is still chasing the women and a number of faces crop up in this film who went on to achieve greater fame elsewhere. That's the real fun in this movie – watching out for them - I'm sure many of them regretted their appearance here in retrospect! First his cab-mate/co-driver is played by Paul Copley, seen here as a slim and long-haired 20-something. And despite the genre of this film he keeps his clothes on throughout – interesting as U.K. viewers saw him recently in an episode of the TV series 'Shameless' in an extended full-frontal scene. Paul is now of course middle-aged with considerably less hair but more lard around his stomach! Not a pretty sight. Also appearing as one of Alfie's birds is Vicki Michelle (her appearance spans the opening titles). Her topless scene here features her as an English teacher in France. She later became famous of course as Yvette in the BBC's 'Allo Allo' comedy series, playing a French waitress trying to speak English! Another of Alfie's girls is played by Joan Collins, again another topless scene several years before her Stud/Bitch 'disco' movie money-spinners. And then there is Rula Lenska in another topless scene , she is a star of many movies and TV plays shown here in U.K. And Sheila White, a couple of years before her supporting role as Rosie Noggett in the 'Confessions' movies. Also the lovely Hannah Gordon – sadly fully clothed here throughout though! Her daughter is played by Patsy Kensit making a VERY young (and dentally-challenged) appearance here. Brian Wilde crops up as a doctor, before his many years playing Foggy in the long-running BBC comedy series 'Last of the Summer Wine'. Annie Ross also appears as yet another girlfriend – again topless. However the main attention of Alfie's desires throughout this film is Abby Summers, played by Jill Townsend, who went on to play Elizabeth in the 'Poldark' TV series. Alfie pursues her in France, in her London office and eventually via a car-chase which features jumps and speeded-up film – like something out of 'Dukes of Hazzard' in fact. As she is driving a compact Triumph Spitfire and he is driving a large American V8 convertible (I believe it's a Pontiac Firebird - could any U.S reviewer please confirm) he does of course catch up with her. They begin a relationship but there is a twist at the end which I won't reveal here as no spoilers! In summary, this is an average film, quite watchable, but ultimately a sad sequel to its far superior predecessor.

I bought this film for its curiosity value as a belated, little known sequel to the 60's classic that established Michael Caine as an international star.

As the film progressed, I found myself becoming curious about a number of other things:

If the film is close at all to the source material, then why did the author, Bill Naughton, have Alfie revert to his old tricks when he had obviously learnt a painful lesson and finally grown up at the end of the first story?

Was the character/personality of Alfie totally transformed in the new story by Naughton or by the bizarre casting of a third rate actor who should have stuck with being a second rate musician?

Why did those responsible for this decision choose a Geordie who can't act to take on a role that remains synonymous with probably the world's most famous Cockney? A Geordie who, in fact, was unproven having never before played a significant role on screen and had none of the charm or charisma that is an essential ingredient of the central character's appeal.

If Alfie is such a master of seduction, why does he constantly make childish sexual comments like a schoolboy trying to convince his friends that he's lost his virginity?

Why was the bizarre mating ritual car chase included when it seems so artificial and contrived? I'll attempt to answer this one. Maybe there was a preview screening and the unanimous feedback was 'Good film, well done! Stick in a car chase and you may have an Oscar contender on your hands...'

What was the thinking behind the unnecessary 'tragic' ending? Was it an attempt to match the gravitas of the first film or to establish Alfie as a man who behind the shallow exterior has feelings like the rest of us?

Does the quality of the film justify the time it would take to consider these points?

No.

Does it justify the few minutes I have spent writing about it?

Probably not, unless it persuades those that read this review not to make the same mistake I did i.e. allow their curiosity to get the better of them and end up buying a film they will watch once and never want to see again.

P.S. The kind of people (like scarecrow-14) who dismiss as 'idiotic' any comment they disagree with say far more about themselves than they will ever do about the people they are trying to criticise.

The argument for Alan Price NOT being a second rate musician is that he is right up there with Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum.

In their 43 year career, how many number 1's did Procol Harum have in the UK singles' charts?

The answer is...

The same as the number of times I will watch Alfie Darling.

In this in-name-only sequel to Michael Caine's Alfie (1966), musician Alan Price (of The Animals) takes over the title role in Oh, Alfie! (alternate title to Alfie Darling) He's not bad and neither is Jill Townsend as Abby Summers, a magazine editor who has trouble taking time off for dating Alfie but somehow does. Not that the bloke has completely changed his ways, certainly not with Joan Collins playing one of his conquests. Alfie's encounters with her jealous husband is one of the highlights here. Having read of some topless scenes from the last comment, when I saw this on the Flick by Flick blog, I was very disappointed they were all cut out! What was left was some pretty bawdy scenes near the end that upped the entertainment a little. In closing, while Oh, Alfie! wasn't any great shakes, it's certainly a nice distraction for about 90 minutes.

Alfie Darling, the sequel to the classic ALFIE, is a pleasant old fashioned romp, that keeps you interested, but is not in the class of the original. The very handsome lead looks like a young Joe Dallesandro (cult underground actor for Andy Warhol) and is quite adequate in making you believe he's a big 'ladies man'. He also shows a bit of sweetness to go with those boyish good looks.

I'm not condemning this film for being sexist, its more titillating, and typical of the type of films they were showing as the second feature at Drive-Ins at the time. Its also great to see Joan Collins, a few years before she did Dynasty, showing a lot more than expected, actually totally topless. She plays a sort of well to do lady who likes to be wined and dined with all the charms and graces, but is also very kinky in the sack. Her scenes are quite camp actually, and worth seeing this film for, if you liked her in The Stud and The Bitch. Joan Collins is a sweetheart in real life, whom I met once at a book signing, and is a living treasure to this day. Robert. Australia.