Cocktails in the Kitchen

In the 50s British films tried to combat the growing influence of TV.One of the first sitcoms was on BBC and was called "The Grove Family" about what would then be called a working class family.This is an upmarket version of that set in Kensington in colour.However it all falls very flat as a comedy.Firstly there is a major problem with Susan Stephen ,as she is simply not very good.It is difficult to understand the couples circumstances,where Bogarde doesn't earn enough money,Stephen sits home all day and they employ Thora Hird as a daily woman.There are all sorts of well known faces coming and going through this film but alas they do not enliven what is a very forced farce.Bogarde would of course have a very successful career ahead of him whilst Stephen would soon slip into obscurity.