We Brits love a good comedy film series. The Cornetto Trilogy, the 'Confessions' movies and of course the 'Carry On' films.
However, our penchant for movies with a recurring theme started way back in 1954 with the 'Doctors' series. Whilst not as long lived, productive or as engrained in British Culture as the aforementioned Carry On series, they are no less fondly remembered.
Whilst the Carry On output was exponential, producing 30 movies between 1958 and 1978, often churning out two a year, Only seven 'Doctor' movies were made between 1954 and 1970.
Despite being a completely separate entity, the connection that the 'Doctors' movies had with the Carry Ons runs deeper than most people think. They were produced by Betty E Box who was the wife of Carry On Producer Peter Rogers and they were Directed by Ralph Thomas, elder brother of Carry On Director Gerald Thomas and the younger Thomas brother actually works as Editor on this, the first movie in the 'Doctor' franchise.
The film centres around a group of medical students at St Swithun's Hospital. Some are green as grass first years, and others are returning students who had failed their exams the previous year and are coming back for another bite of the cherry.
One of them, Richard Grimsdyke (Kenneth More), keeps failing his exams on purpose as his Grandmother has agreed to supply him with £1000 a year for as long as he is studying and he doesn't want to see that annual stipend come to an end and given that back in 1954 you could evidently buy four pints of beer for only five shillings (25p in today's money), who can blame him?
Another, 'Taffy' Evans, (Donald Houston), keeps failing accidentally, because his obsession with Rugby, (which for some reason they keep referring to as football), makes him neglect his studies.
Tony Benskin (Donald Sinden), is the friend we all have, (but sometimes wish we didn't), the ladies man who's consistently broke and never buys a round of drinks. He seems to be studying for a degree in sexual malpractice, as he systematically sets about seducing as many student nurses as he can.
Nestled within these three is Simon Sparrow, (Dirk Bogarde), the innocent first year and the only one of the four who wants to take his studies seriously and pass his finals the first time at bat. However, this task is not made easy though given his three well meaning, but disruptive colleagues who strive to introduce Simon to the ways of the flesh with the numerous nurses they encounter at every turn and one in particular, Nurse Joy Gibson (Muriel Pavlow), steals his heart.
Simon also has to deal with an officious Dean of Students, who makes no secret of his dislike for the quartet of budding physicians and would love nothing better than to expel them all. However, fighting their corner is the brash and ill-tempered Sir Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice), who sees the potential in all of them, (particularly Simon's), despite their numerous escapades.
Dirk Bogarde would reprise his role as Simon Sparrow in a further three 'Doctors' movies and it is interesting to compare how he is in this movie, with the confident and experienced doctor giving advise and self belief to a new brace of student doctors in his final appearance Doctor in Distress in 1963.
Whilst later movies in the series would become a lot more racy and bawdy, this is extremely tame in comparison, but it is a charming little comedy nonetheless. Doctor in the House would become a HUGE hit and in consequence pave the way for the movies that followed and also influence it's more well known 'Carry On' counterpart.
Enjoy!
However, our penchant for movies with a recurring theme started way back in 1954 with the 'Doctors' series. Whilst not as long lived, productive or as engrained in British Culture as the aforementioned Carry On series, they are no less fondly remembered.
Whilst the Carry On output was exponential, producing 30 movies between 1958 and 1978, often churning out two a year, Only seven 'Doctor' movies were made between 1954 and 1970.
Despite being a completely separate entity, the connection that the 'Doctors' movies had with the Carry Ons runs deeper than most people think. They were produced by Betty E Box who was the wife of Carry On Producer Peter Rogers and they were Directed by Ralph Thomas, elder brother of Carry On Director Gerald Thomas and the younger Thomas brother actually works as Editor on this, the first movie in the 'Doctor' franchise.
The film centres around a group of medical students at St Swithun's Hospital. Some are green as grass first years, and others are returning students who had failed their exams the previous year and are coming back for another bite of the cherry.
One of them, Richard Grimsdyke (Kenneth More), keeps failing his exams on purpose as his Grandmother has agreed to supply him with £1000 a year for as long as he is studying and he doesn't want to see that annual stipend come to an end and given that back in 1954 you could evidently buy four pints of beer for only five shillings (25p in today's money), who can blame him?
Another, 'Taffy' Evans, (Donald Houston), keeps failing accidentally, because his obsession with Rugby, (which for some reason they keep referring to as football), makes him neglect his studies.
Tony Benskin (Donald Sinden), is the friend we all have, (but sometimes wish we didn't), the ladies man who's consistently broke and never buys a round of drinks. He seems to be studying for a degree in sexual malpractice, as he systematically sets about seducing as many student nurses as he can.
Nestled within these three is Simon Sparrow, (Dirk Bogarde), the innocent first year and the only one of the four who wants to take his studies seriously and pass his finals the first time at bat. However, this task is not made easy though given his three well meaning, but disruptive colleagues who strive to introduce Simon to the ways of the flesh with the numerous nurses they encounter at every turn and one in particular, Nurse Joy Gibson (Muriel Pavlow), steals his heart.
Simon also has to deal with an officious Dean of Students, who makes no secret of his dislike for the quartet of budding physicians and would love nothing better than to expel them all. However, fighting their corner is the brash and ill-tempered Sir Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice), who sees the potential in all of them, (particularly Simon's), despite their numerous escapades.
Dirk Bogarde would reprise his role as Simon Sparrow in a further three 'Doctors' movies and it is interesting to compare how he is in this movie, with the confident and experienced doctor giving advise and self belief to a new brace of student doctors in his final appearance Doctor in Distress in 1963.
Whilst later movies in the series would become a lot more racy and bawdy, this is extremely tame in comparison, but it is a charming little comedy nonetheless. Doctor in the House would become a HUGE hit and in consequence pave the way for the movies that followed and also influence it's more well known 'Carry On' counterpart.
Enjoy!