Two and Two Make Six
| Two and Two Make Six | |
|---|---|
.png) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Freddie Francis |
| Written by | Monja Danischewsky |
| Produced by | Monja Danischewsky |
| Starring | George Chakiris Janette Scott Alfred Lynch Jocelyn Lane |
| Cinematography | Desmond Dickinson Ronnie Taylor |
| Edited by | Peter Taylor |
| Music by | Norrie Paramor |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Bryanston Films (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £116,401[1] |
Two and Two Make Six (also known as A Change of Heart and The Girl Swappers) is a 1962 black and white British romantic comedy film directed by Freddie Francis and starring George Chakiris and Janette Scott.[2]
Plot
[edit]American serviceman Larry is serving in England when he goes absent without leave. After accidentally knocking out a sergeant sent to arrest him he goes on the run with a girl, Julie, riding a motorcycle around rural England. At a transport cafe, due to parallel bikes and leathers as seen from the back, she gets on the pillion of the wrong motorcycle (that of Tom Bennett), and her counterpart Irene gets on Larry's bike. Both girls realise their mistake ten minutes later.
Both couples return to the cafe to resolve it. Tom is ridiculed at the counter. Larry returns but speeds off when he sees a police car. One couple go to Sevenhills and one to Westport.
Tom heads to his Aunt Phoebe, who runs a college for young ladies in Sevenhills. Aunt Phoebe is immediately confused and thinks a love triangle is on the cards, but she treats Tom and Julie with great kindness.
Larry takes Irene to a hotel, but they are suspicious and refuse to give him a room. Eventually Ted, a barman, gives them a tip of a hotel which will take them. The night porter is surprised when they ask for two rooms rather than one.
Julie appears in Tom's bedroom in her pyjamas and they chat. He is very shy but she kisses him.
Larry heads to the docks to organise an illicit passage out of the country but his cash is in Sevenhills. He goes back to Irene's hotel room and tells her the whole story. She is sleeping nude but is very prim and polite. The next day she buys a new dress and heads to locate Sevenhills Ladies College and Aunt Phoebe. Meanwhile Julie goes clothes shopping, using some of Larry's money that he had left with her. Back at the college she treats Tom to a view of her in a basque. Larry appears at the door and a fight between the men ensues.
Irene tells Larry that she loves him. She materialises at the US Army HQ as Larry gives himself up. She claims to be pregnant by Larry (untrue) in order to lessen his court martial sentence.
We jump to both girls pushing prams.
Cast
[edit]- George Chakiris as Larry Currado
- Janette Scott as Irene
- Alfred Lynch as Thomas 'Tom' Ernest Bennett
- Jocelyn Lane as Julie Matthews
- Athene Seyler as Aunt Phoebe Tonks
- Bernard Braden as Sergeant Sokolow
- Malcolm Keen as Harry Stoneham
- Ambrosine Phillpotts as Lady Smith-Adams
- Jack MacGowran as night porter
- Robert Ayres as Colonel Robert Thompson
- Edward Evans as Mack
- Harry Locke as Ted
- Jeremy Lloyd as bowler-hatted young man
- Marianne Stone as Grand Hotel day receptionist
Production
[edit]It was based on an idea of a producer after he saw two people out riding.[3] Freddie Francis later recalled:
Dear old Danischewsky whom I love asked me to do this film and I read it and I said I don't think the script is right for kids. He said you can change it. And he was serious about saying I could change it, but he didn't think I wanted to change it to the degree I wanted to. So Pam and I work on it an awful lot and we made a script which we thought was suitable for kids, when I say kids I mean a younger audience. When Danny saw it of course he was appalled, he hadn't meant I could alter it, he meant I could alter it. He meant I could change a few commas. Now I was in a spot. If I know what I know now I would have said I'm sorry Danny, I can't do it. But having gone all through the dramas, and in those days if they wanted somebody to direct a film, they had to get the permission from the National Film Finance Corporation – we are going to have so and so to direct it, and if they said no, you were out. They'd agreed that I could do it. And I thought if I back out now I'm going to be in trouble. And so I thought I could still change it to what I wanted and I couldn't, and it wasn't very good.[4]
Reception
[edit]Box office
[edit]The film received poor reviews and recorded a loss of £53,000.[1]: 14
Critical
[edit]The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "For a film aimed at the teenage and family audience, this is a rather gauche and – despite the way it sports crash-helmets and black jackets – dated little romantic comedy. The notion of mistaken identity arising from the wearing of identical motor-bike gear is quite clever, but the plot clsewhere is even more far-fetched in detail and predictable in development, while Freddie Francis's direction lacks the necessary lift and confidence. This weakness of material and handling inclines George Chakiris to labour the pace, but Janette Scott and Alfred Lynch are touching as Irene and the naive Tom, and Athene Seyler enjoys herself greatly as the irrepressible, anti-Square, Aunt Phoebe. It is the cast, in fact, which enables the film to be indulgently enjoyed."[5]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Ace cinematographer Freddie Francis made his directorial debut with this trifle about a US Air Force deserter who rides off on his motorbike and falls in love with his pillion passenger. ...Francis seemed happier with later horror fare and eventually went back behind the camera for such movies as The Elephant Man."[6]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Reasonably fresh little romantic comedy."[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films: An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 7. ISSN 1465-3451.
- ^ "Two and Two Make Six". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ Champ, John (6 July 1961). "Production". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 18.
- ^ "Interview with Freddie Francis". British Entertainment History Project. 1993–1994.
- ^ "Two and Two Make Six". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 85. 1 January 1962 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 969. ISBN 9780992936440.
- ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 1059. ISBN 0586088946.