Entertaining Mr. Sloane Movie Review

Let me say something about the FASHIONS in Entertaining Mr. Sloane. Beryl Reid, a full-figured 52, must be among the least vain actresses of all time to wear the skimpy outfits designed for her by Emma Porteus. Well, Kath WOULD wear outfits like that to entice the new tenant, Mr. Sloane (Peter McEnery, then 30). HE, meanwhile, is wearing the tightest leather suit imaginable, which makes him just as desirable to Brother Ed (Harry Andrews, 59) as to Sister Kath. Upstairs, Dadda Kemp (Alan Webb, 64) is drooling his life away. Ed and Kath would do anything to make Mr. Sloane happy—yes, ANYTHING—and with that in mind, Mr. Sloane licks his chops and bides his time. This successful adaptation of the very funny black comedy from the savagely original mind of Joe Orton is filled with grotesque situations, violent undercurrents, and sly wit. Everyone plays this droll farce with tongues firmly in cheek: “And we sweat and we strain entertaining Mr. Sloane….” Well, it may not have made the Billboard charts like “Yeh Yeh” or “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde,” but 26-year-old pop singer Georgie Fame undoubtedly earned a decent paycheck for writing the title song of this movie, which received a “X” rating in Great Britain.

1970 90m/C GB Beryl Reid, Harry Andrews, Peter McEnery, Alan Webb; D: Douglas Hickox; W: Clive Exton, Joe Orton; C: Wolfgang Suschitzky. VHS