The Knack... And How To Get It

Cannes 1965 - Palme d'Or

Tolen (Ray Brooks) has it. Colin (Michael Crawford) doesn't. "It" is the knack for getting women into bed. After obtaining lessons from the master, Colin buys a bed big enough for his conquests. This leads Colin and his friend Tom (Donal Donnelly) to Nancy (Rita Tushingham), an attractive traveler. The boys vie for her affections, but when she meets Tolen, she faints, overcome by his charm. Nancy awakens thinking she has been raped and points her finger at the hapless Colin.

As films age they are commonly seen as "tame by today's standards." This is not the case with this outrageously loose 1965 portrait of Swinging London. A revolutionary film, this amoral slapstick combined the rapid-fire-gag approach used by director Richard Lester in his previous work with the Beatles (A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, HELP!) with the awareness of technique popularized by the French New Wave. The style of filmmaking perfectly captures the time period and was also highly influential to the film school generation of the late 1960s and early 1970s. John Barry's playful score fusing jazz and pop sets the frenetic pace. Though purely cinematic, the film is based on a popular play by Ann Jellicoe.

In this risque, rollicking sex farce from Britain, a timid schoolteacher's Lothario of a boarder tries to give his straitlaced landlord a tip or two about how to make it with the ladies--with hilarious results. A swift, smart, swinging comedy adapted from the play by Ann Jellicoe.

British | British Comedy | Buddies | Scams And Cons | Theatrical Release

Award Winners:

• Cannes - Palme d'Or

Genre:

• Comedy Movies

Movie Categories:

• Comedies

Product Series:

• 20th Century Fox / MGM DVD Clearance Sale