DIRECTOR: Douglas Hickox.
BOTTOM LINE: The talented gay British playwright Joe Orton burst onto the scene in the swinging sixties with his brilliantly dark, satirical, and comedic masterpieces “Loot” and “Entertaining Mr Sloane.” Tragically, his career was cut short when he was murdered by his lover, Kenneth Halliwell, in 1967. Halliwell then tragically took his own life. These events were portrayed by Gary Oldman and Albert Molina in the captivating 1987 film “Prick Up Your Ears” directed by Stephen Frears.
This 1970 cinema adaptation of “Entertaining Mr Sloane,” which was written by the esteemed British TV writer Clive Exton and directed by Douglas Hickox, loses some of its impact in translation mainly because it tones down the sense of danger that should have emanated from Peter McEnery’s title character, a morally ambiguous wanderer with a striking allure. Sloane is willing to go to any lengths, including sleeping simultaneously with the siblings Kath and Ed, portrayed by Beryl Reid and Harry Andrews, if he can continue to live the spoilt life to which he has become accustomed. However, in this adaptation, he is portrayed as a bland, unassuming figure rather than the powerful force he was meant to be (I have not seen the ITV 1968 adaption starring Sheila Hancock, Edward Woodward and Clive Francis).
Still, Reed and Andrews are marvelous, both giving deliciously devious performances (with Reed gamely suffering through some very unflattering costume changes) right up to the delightful ending where Ed presides over the marriage of Kath to the protesting Mr. Sloane, and she repays the favor by marrying the lovely gay couple! This scene is initially framed as being outrageous. However, there is also an air of WHY NOT about it! It’s a beautiful forecast of Queer triumphs to come.
The fourth cog in Orton’s wheel is Alan Webb doing his best Barry Fitzgerald impersonation as “the dado,” Kath and Ed’s grouchy father who, having witnessed some of Mr. Sloan’s shenanigans, is quickly disposed of in the first act. However, his corpse, complete with rigor mortis, “lives on” to become an essential part of the happy nuptials at the film’s finale.
McEnery had previously played the gay character “Boy Barrett” in the groundbreaking Queer film “Victim” opposite Dirk Bogarde in 1961.
NOW STREAMING ON BFI CLASSICS
https://thebrownees.net/sixty-five-queer-films-made-under-the-hays-code-1934-1967
https://thebrownees.net/sixty-five-queer-films-made-under-the-hays-code-1934-1967-table-summary
https://thebrownees.net/fifty-two-post-hays-code-queer-films-released-in-the-decade-1967-1976
