6/10
Toy in the attic
7 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Robert Blossom, an English brassiere manufacturer, is a perfectionist. His designs are always being updated so that ladies buying the product will get the best use of it. He is married to Harriet, an American from Ohio, who is clearly bored with her life. She spends all her energies in decorating her suburban London home in what could be taken for a modified psychedelic style, so prevalent from that era. In addition, she is a painter and she likes to create her own clothes.

When Harriet's old sewing machine breaks, she asks Robert for help. Mr. Blossom sends Ambrose Tuttle, a mechanic to his home to repair the damage. Ambrose, who has been with the firm for only a short while, is dazzled by the beautiful woman he meets. Harriet, a kind hearted woman has a soft spot for the man that tells her he is an orphan who never knew his parents. Harriet, who has a spare bed in the attic, invites Ambrose to have it. Well, Ambrose goes a bit further, he decides to move in.

Suddenly, Robert begins hearing strange sounds in the house. He is a man that loves conducting the musical recordings in the evening. As the annoying noises keep waking him up, he decides to have a detective look into the matter. Detective Dylan, and his assistant, arrive on the scene, but they never suspect someone like the missing mechanic is right there carrying an affair with Mrs. Tuttle.

This British farce, directed by Joseph McGraw, is based on a short story by an American writer, Josef Shaftel, which evidently was turned into a play by Alec Coppel, who co-adapted his own material. The comedy was probably a vehicle for its star, Shirley MacLaine, who is seen as Mrs. Blossom. The copy which was presented on cable recently, had a pristine quality and even though it is just a piece of fluff, the great production design by Assheton Gorton and the art direction of Bill Alexander and George Lack, take the viewer to that era of where London was the center of the Mod fashion and a style that was imitated by everyone. Geoffrey Sheldon photographs all the vivid colors contrasting with the stark white paint of the interior of the house. Riz Ortolani contributed the music score.

A subdued Shirley MacLaine proved to be a nice surprise. In contrast, the energetic James Booth is all over the place as Ambrose. Richard Attemborough plays the perfectionist Robert Blossom. Freddie Jones is detective Dylan. John Cleese and Patricia Routledge are seen in small supporting roles.
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