Only Two Can Play

1962
PG
1h 46m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.5K

YOUR RATING

John Lewis is bored by his librarian's job and henpecked at home. Then Liz, wife of a local counciller, sets her sights on him. But this is risky stuff in a Welsh valleys town - if he and Liz ever manage to consummate their affair, that is.

Play trailer2:38

1 Video

99+ Photos

Quirky Comedy Satire Comedy Drama

A frustrated librarian (Sellers) in Swansea, Wales is torn between his wife Jean (Maskell) and a glamorous married woman, Liz (Zetterling), who wants to have an affair.A frustrated librarian (Sellers) in Swansea, Wales is torn between his wife Jean (Maskell) and a glamorous married woman, Liz (Zetterling), who wants to have an affair.A frustrated librarian (Sellers) in Swansea, Wales is torn between his wife Jean (Maskell) and a glamorous married woman, Liz (Zetterling), who wants to have an affair.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 4 BAFTA Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations total

User reviews34

Featured review

7/10

Peter Sellers in one of his more serious characterizations

I was not surprised to see that this movie was based on the black humour of Kingsley Amis. Do not expect from Sellers the slapstick farce of the Pink Panther days or the sparkling multiple personalities of the "Mouse that Roared" or the radio Goon shows. Instead, here is a believable person whose comedy arises from his all-too-human reaction to the situation in which he finds himself.

The "usual suspects" put up fine character performances, there are funny moments enough. If the movie is not quite the comic equal of "I'm All Right Jack", or other Sellers movies of the early 60s, perhaps it is because the comedy and its resolution are a little too conventional to show Sellers at his best. It is still worth watching to see Sellers at his best as a serious actor.

As another comment mentioned, the black-&-white filming is also just right for the subject.

Crispin-3
May 17, 2007
Permalink

Videos1

Trailer 2:38

Trailer

Photos131

+ 124

More like this

6.7

7.1

5.8

6.6

6.7

The Wrong Arm of the Law

6.8

Hoffman

6.2

The Dock Brief

7.0

The Smallest Show on Earth

6.1

Mr. Topaze

6.8

Home at Seven

6.4

The Man Upstairs

6.1

Keep Your Seats, Please!

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Peter Sellers won great acclaim for his performance in this movie, but was difficult to work with throughout the filming. He repeatedly asked Director Sidney Gilliat to replace Virginia Maskell, who played his wife, and, when Gilliat refused, he became convinced that this movie would be a disaster, said so publicly, and sold his percentage of the profits back to Launder and Gilliat. It proved to be a big commercial and critical hit (with Maskell winning excellent reviews), and so he lost out on a lot of money. Perhaps because of this, he continued to bad-mouth the movie for the rest of his life.

Goofs
At the start John is holding a book, and one gets a glimpse of the title: "Sex, Sin and Sanctity" but when the camera looks at the title it has changed to "Is Sex Necessary?"

Quotes
John Lewis: You know what you're asking for, don't you?
Gareth L. Probert: I always thought you were crude, Lewis, but right now you're surpassing even yourself.
John Lewis: ...and you're going to get it in a moment, boy-o, and not in blank verse either.