Don't put me on the list of fans of French bombshell Mylène Demongeot, playing the Swedish nanny in this colorful British farce that is filled with a ton of outrageous characters involved in the life of newlyweds Anne Heywood and Michael Craig. She's the daughter of his blowhard boss (James Robertson Justice), and this puts Craig in the position of playing host to a bunch of boring business associates affecting the new marriage especially when they start a family and try to hire help. First there's drunk maid (Joan Sims), then an elderly couple turns out to be bank robbers, and finally coming along Demongeot whose cheery personality charms everyone but shows signs of really being a sociopath, setting sights on both Justice and Craig. She works on Craig by subtly bashing his wife to him, a situation he is too blind to see.
Outside of her, I really enjoyed the film and the onslaught of delightfully oddball characters including meddling beat cop Sid James who pops in and out of the story like a jack in the box. The film is filled with beautiful colorful clothes that creates a bit of a fashion parade, with Demongeot wearing very tight tops that would spill off the screen if it was done in 3-D. I smiled more than I laughed, much of the humor a bit dated or presented ridiculously. Craig's character is too much of a ninny to be someone worth rooting for, and the conflicts that are set up seem too easy to be resolved. Too bad that the title of the film really isn't much of an analysis of upstairs and downstairs relationships, but it presents the message that good help is definitely hard to find.
Outside of her, I really enjoyed the film and the onslaught of delightfully oddball characters including meddling beat cop Sid James who pops in and out of the story like a jack in the box. The film is filled with beautiful colorful clothes that creates a bit of a fashion parade, with Demongeot wearing very tight tops that would spill off the screen if it was done in 3-D. I smiled more than I laughed, much of the humor a bit dated or presented ridiculously. Craig's character is too much of a ninny to be someone worth rooting for, and the conflicts that are set up seem too easy to be resolved. Too bad that the title of the film really isn't much of an analysis of upstairs and downstairs relationships, but it presents the message that good help is definitely hard to find.