This entry in the "Doctor At Large" series has a great cast but little direction. The film is really little more than a series of picaresque encounters, enlivened by a solid support cast that largely manages to overcome Ralph Thomas's heavy-handed direction. Dirk Bogarde and Muriel Pavlow are both okay, but it's a pity so much of the plot is given over to Donald Sinden, who is the least graceful member of the cast. He tries vainly to give a Kenneth More edge to the part. Shirley Eaton looks great. It's a real shame her role is so small. And speaking of small roles, Dr Richard Gordon can be spotted in the brief scene with James Robertson Justice. He's the diminutive doctor in the green (? -- my still is in black-and-white) cap and gown.

The third film in the series of British comedies based on the novels of Richard Gordon. Dr.Simon Sparrow ( Dirk Bogarde ) is competing with the conceited Dr.Bingham ( Michael Medwin ) for the job of senior house surgeon. But after accidentally being rude to one of the Board of Governors, he gets the push.Sparrow takes on one job after another; from Dr.Hackett's ( Lionel Jefferies ) Northern practice to Dr.Potter-Shine's ( Derek Farr ) Harley Street surgery, but each time things go wrong. Eventually, he finds himself right back where he started - at St. Swithins...A wonderful supporting cast - Dandy Nichols, Edward Chapman, Shirley Eaton ( as a sexy nurse ), Barbara Murray, Ronnie Stevens, Dilys Laye, George Coulouris and so on - enlivens this episodic comedy. Watching it now you can see where most of the ideas for the 1971 London Weekend Television sitcom ( starring Barry Evans ) came from. There's the man who claims to cough up nuts and bolts, a woman panicking when Dr.Sparrow refuses to prescribe her any more red medicine, the patients complaining about the new Doctor being too young, Benskin inheriting a fortune only to learn it must be donated to a hospital of his choice, and so on.Whereas the main characters underwent name changes for the series ( 'Dr.Sparrow' becoming 'Upton', 'Benskin' inspiring the character of 'Stuart-Clark' etc. ), 'Dr.Bingham' made it into the show more or less intact. Medwin plays him as a tweedy, humourless twit in a bow-tie, whereas Richard O'Sullivan's version was unpleasant and yet very funny.Back after a one film absence are Muriel Pavlow as 'Joy' and Donald Sinden as 'Benskin'. Bogarde was keen to make this his last appearance in the series, hence the ending implies that he and Joy are to be married. The next film - 'Doctor In Love' - starred Michael Craig and Leslie Phillips. Bogarde returned as 'Sparrow' ( sans 'Joy' ) for 1964's 'Doctor In Distress'.What secures this a place in British comedy film history is the famous 'big breaths' gag - a mother takes her well-endowed teenage daughter Eva to see the doctor. As Sparrow puts on his stethoscope, he tells her: "Big breaths, Eva!". The lisping girl replies: "Yeth. And I'm only thixteen!".

From a Britain of Travelling Salesmen,Surgical Appliance Shops and Dirty Weekends comes a glimpse of a long - forgotten past in "Doctor at large".Mr Dirk Bogarde,Miss Muriel Pavlow and Mr Donald Sinden happily recreate their principal roles and Mr James Robertson Justice reappears as that stuff of legend Sir Lancelot Spratt.The film mainly concerns itself with the struggles of Dr Simon Sparrow (Mr D. Bogarde) as he serves as a locum in various medical practises throughout the country.At one such in the midlands (populated almost exclusively by Shepperton cockneys)he clashes swords with Miss Glady Henson who fortunately does not appear to recognise him as the murderer of her husband PC Dixon a few years earlier. He pursues attractive blonde (well,this was 1957) nurse Miss Shirley Eaton and , in a rather racy scene she agrees to stay overnight with him at an hotel in the country.They put up at "The Judge's Rest" - later rather confusingly referred to as "The Judge's Arms" - where love was unable to find a way past the formidable Miss Judith Furse as the sort of landlady who would if necessary interpose her body between an illicit couple and enjoy doing it. Miss M. Pavlow - terribly nice and incorrigibly virginal - loves him from afar and he behaves towards her more like a GBF than a potential lover,something that she signally fails to spot.His last - minute conversion to her cause is not particularly convincing. Mr D.Sinden's role as uber - lech Dr Benskin has been lampooned by every Hospital Panto for the last fifty years so he must have been doing something right.Perhaps he was living the fantasy of every young male medical student. The sublime Mr A.E. Matthews graces the screen as the absolutely potty Duke of Skye and Lewes and serves to remind us of the once abundant supply of delightful eccentrics that the British Film Industry could call upon to enliven even the most moribund production. There is the requisite number of breast and bottom jokes without which no British medical comedy could flourish but not one of them is remotely offensive.Lovers of Channel Four's "Green Wing" may recognise some of them. Although the "Doctor" franchise rumbled on for years,only "In the house" "at sea" and "at large" can be considered to be the "pur sang" of the series.Even by 1957 Mr D. Bogarde was looking a little fretful and in 1958 he appeared in "The Doctor's Dilemma" which caused a lot of confusion amongst the less literate of his fans. I like to think that there is a heaven somewhere where he is driving his long - bonnetted Vauxhall convertible along a deserted country road with Miss Shirley Eaton's pretty scarfed head resting on his shoulder.As they reach the brow of a hill you can see the bright blue sea sparkling in the distance.Mr Bogarde's hair is blowing in the slipstream as they pull off into the car park of an old country inn. He takes a small suitcase out of the boot and they walk hand in hand to the front door.The Inn is called "The Judge's Rest" and the landlady ,Miss Judith Furse,smiles and says "Welcome Mr and Mrs Sparrow,I'll show you to your room"

After the high seas high-jinx of the previous movie, 'Doctor At Sea', 'Doctor At Large' sees the series go back to basics, with a return to St Swithin's and a reunion with all the main cast of 'Doctor In The House' (with the single exception of Kenneth More).This return is a slight disappointment, as it never seems to recapture the magic of the original. Part of the problem is, I think, down to the script. There is no plot worth mentioning, more a series of sketches, some good, some bad, while the fact that this move seems to change it's setting every ten minutes or so, (the scene changes from London to Birmingham, Ireland, London again, the countryside, the South of France and back to London again) prevents you getting involved with the characters.However, this constant change does have it's advantages, for one thing it shows off possibly the best cast ever assembled for a British comedy, with even the smallest role filled out by a familiar face. But, again, their appearance is usually limited to one or two brief scenes.Of the cast, Lionel Jefferies and Dilys Laye catch the eye, as a seedy, mean, slightly sinister Doctor and his (much) younger blonde wife. Donald Sinden, reprising his role as Benskin from 'Doctor In The House' is fun to watch, playing a character not that different from the ones that Leslie Phillips would later play in the series. While James Robertson Justice hardly seems to be in this move, appearing briefly at the beginning but then not seen until the last twenty minutes or so of the picture. On the whole 'Doctor At Large' is fun to watch and has a few good jokes (the 'big breaths' joke for example) but never seems to catch fire. It's worth watching but is far from being the best vehicle for Bogarde's Simon Sparrow.