If not a great film, something director Tony Richardson acknowledged when he trimmed a reel of footage from his ‘Director’s Cut,’ surely one of the great civilized entertainments of the day; and a rare Best Pic Oscar for a comedy. The John Osbourne script, a series of picaresque set pieces from the Henry Fielding novel, and heavily tweaked by Richardson, got a real cinematic workout with all sorts of silent slapstick film techniques, not always organically used, drawing us in as well as distancing us from all the bawdy & cheeky action. So too John Addison’s famous faux baroque score and Walter Lassally’s adventurous cinematography, innovative even when it misses the mark. As the horned-up scamp-of-a-foundling too pretty to ward off ladies of every class, it’s hard to believe Albert Finney was an unhappy camper during production. Perhaps that kept him from overplaying. He leaves that to everyone else in a memorable cast that includes Hugh Griffith, Diane Cilento, Edith Evans & Joyce Redman. And that’s only the ones who got Oscar noms. The film instantly made other period pieces look hopelessly square. Still does, especially on later copycat literary adaptations that tried too hard to be hip.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Finney ‘ankled’ on David Lean’s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA/’62, missing a rare chance to star in consecutive Best Pic winners.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: The difference is slight, but if you get the Criterion Edition, go for the Director’s Cut.
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