Alfie Darling

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.

Alan Price takes the title role in this sequel. Anyway the cast included a young Joan Collins; Rula Lenska; Vicki Michelle and Annie Ross as well. He falls for a magazine journalist while traveling to France. He doesn't give up on this conquest. I love the film location sequences between France and England. Scottish American actress and singer, Annie Ross, has some memorable scenes as well. I didn't care for the ending.

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.

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.

This is a pointless sequel to a classic sixties film. It features a leading man who can't act of a character who would today end up in jail for sexual harassment. Its cheap and nasty and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Not surprisingly this was Price's last feature film. He should have stuck to the music.