Love Thy Neighbour (1973 film)
| Company type | Film |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion picture |
| Founded | 1973 |
Key people | John Robins (director) |
| Products | Comedy motion picture |
Love Thy Neighbour is a British comedy motion picture released in 1973, directed by John Robins and featuring performances by Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Kate Williams, and Nina Baden-Semper. This film serves as a cinematic extension of the television series Love Thy Neighbour which aired from 1972 to 1976, and it marks the final screen role of James Beck.
Plot
The story revolves around Eddie and Joan Booth, a white couple residing next to Bill and Barbie Reynolds, who are black. While Joan and Barbie share a close friendship, their husbands Eddie and Bill maintain a hostile relationship. Unaware of their spouses' animosity, Joan and Barbie enter a "Love Thy Neighbour" contest with the prize being a cruise vacation. The situation becomes more complicated when Joan's mother-in-law and Barbie's father-in-law arrive from Trinidad.
Cast
- Jack Smethurst as Eddie Booth
- Rudolph Walker as Bill Reynolds
- Nina Baden-Semper as Barbie Reynolds
- Kate Williams as Joan Booth
- Bill Fraser as Mr. Granger
- Charles Hyatt as Joe Reynolds
- Patricia Hayes as Annie Booth
- Melvyn Hayes as Terry
- Keith Marsh as Jacko
- Tommy Godfrey as Arthur
- Azad Ali as Winston
- Arthur English as Carter
- Andria Lawrence as Norma
- Clifford Mollison as registrar
- Lincoln Webb as Charlie
- Norman Chappell as Indian conductor
- Anna Dawson as Betty
- Bill Pertwee as postman
- Pamela Cundell as Dolly
- Annie Leake as Lil
- Damaris Hayman as woman on bus
- Siobhan Quinlan as Carol
- James Beck as Cyril
- Dan Jackson as black groom
- John Bindon as white groom
- Lesley Goldie as white bride
- Nosher Powell as bus driver
- Michael Sharvell-Martin as police constable
- Fred Griffiths as taxi driver
Box office
Financially, the film achieved success, securing the position of the 15th highest-grossing movie in the United Kingdom for that year.
Critical
In The Monthly Film Bulletin, critic David McGillivray described it as "a further instance of domestic farce equally foolish and innocuous as the original TV series. The direction, timing, and vaudeville-style caricatures seem to be from the same era as the humor."
The Manchester Evening News praised it, calling it "the most effective example to date of a television comedy transitioning to cinema."
According to Britmovie, the film is a "period piece reflecting politically incorrect themes of prejudice and rivalry," highlighting that its "uninformed remarks and insults" tend to evoke amusement rather than offense in contemporary times.
External links
- Love Thy Neighbour then-and-now location photographs at ReelStreets