Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970)

Director:

Douglas Hickox

Writers:

Clive Exton (writer)
Joe Orton (play)

Release Date:

11 September 1970 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Sloane, a handsome, sexy and completely amoral young man, joins Kath's household as a lodger and proceeds to manipulate her and her brother...

Plot Keywords:

Lodger | Older Man Younger Man Relationship | Sex | Gay Interest | Based On Play

Cast

Beryl Reid	...	Kath
Harry Andrews	...	Ed
Peter McEnery	...	Mr. Sloane
Alan Webb	...	Kemp ('Dadda')

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Brockley, London, England, UK

Company:

Canterbury Film Productions

Trivia:

When the crew needed dressing rooms they asked at Marmora Road which is opposite the cemetry where the house in the film is. Beryl Reid refused to "lower" herself to using an ordinary house as her dressing room and they had to get a caravan for her and park it in the street outside.

Quotes:

Ed: Women are like banks boy, breaking and entry is a serious offence.

Movie Connections:

Version of "ITV Playhouse: Entertaining Mr. Sloane (#1.42)" (1968)

Controversial film way ahead of its time in sophistication...

ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE is certainly an uneven adaptation of the Joe Orton play, but it does create a few sparks with the performances of BERYL REID as Kath, PETER McENERY as Sloane and HARRY ANDREWS as Ed. The trio is involved in a three-way affair with Mr. Sloane who charms them both with his good looks and apparently bi-sexual leanings.

It's certainly not the usual fare one expects to see on screen, even in the '70s when the material was considered quite daring. But the script gives the three principals some rich material to work with and the film now has a cult status with fans of black comedy.

Orton is the gay playwright who was killed by his lover who then committed suicide and was dead before this film version of his hit London play was made. Whether he would have approved of some of the changes is debatable, but it still has the power to shock and cause ripples of laughter despite the darkness of the theme.

Summing up: As oddball as they come.