"Only Two Can Play" has Peter Sellers married with two children in a Welsh community, working as a librarian. We open on a highlight of one of his days when an enticing young lady comes in asking for "Conditioned Reflexes" by Pavlov. I don't read Pavlov, so I don't know if that's a real book or what. But it sure makes for an arousing moment for a somewhat humdrum day. He seems to like his job to a degree; we see he knows his books by way of conversations with the public and throughout the film. But, maybe he knows it too well and inside and out, needing a change. After the opening credits, he wakes up one morning, and we hear him thinking to himself about his day and his life and we sense he's become resigned to a life of monotonous drudgery. That is, until he meets Liz, played by Mai Zetterling, the wife of a town councilman, who comes in the library and needs assistance. An alliance is formed but never incorporated. Their attempts always seem to be to no avail, most of the time through no fault of their own. What I thought was going to be a zany comedy, like "School for Scoundrels," actually is a very good study of a married man trying to find excitement but looking in all the wrong places. Peter Sellers is very good and I would say it's one of his best dramatic films, outside of "Being There," one of my favorite films. What his character forgets is that "two can play." Richard Attenborough, an old acquaintance of his and his wife's, shows up trying to rekindle his affection for his wife. And, there's a new opening in the library dept. that Liz can influence her councilman husband for Peter to get. But then Peter's eyes are opened and the last 20 minutes or so is very touching. Watch "Only Two Can Play" and see the serious side of Peter Sellers at work. Is it his best side?

"Only Two Can Play" may be the closest Peter Sellers came to playing a normal human being in good movies. A genius of voices, building his characters from the vocal chords out, Sellers was usually at his tip-tip playing off-kilter characters.Here, working with little more than a soft Welsh dialect (which he maintains fairly well, with only a few strange excursions into other vocal realms), Sellers builds a believable character who is unhappy with his inconsequential job and in his marriage (to the tragic Virginia Maskell). Suddenly his life is enlivened by the exotic wife of an influential figure who (rather inexplicably) gets the hots for Sellers' character, and who can also put in a word for him to get a better job in return for certain favors Sellers is more than willing to pay.The film gets considerable mileage over what goes wrong every time the two try to consummate their affair. Overall, though, the tone is low-key and the film never really takes off. "Only Two Can Play" is a must for Sellers' fans, but don't expect any of his wackier creations.Nevertheless, it shows that Sellers may not have given himself enough credit, and he may have been woefully used in more normal parts that required just a slight accent.

I remember seeing this on late night when I was about 10 and along with The Mouse that Roared turned me into a Peter Sellers fan for life! I really prefer his early British films, although he was great in Strangelove and as Clouseau. I'm Allright, Jack is a particular favorite, along with The Naked Truth, Heavens Above!, The Smallest Show on Earth, and Carleton Browne of the F.O.This is a sly, personal film about marriage and infidelity and it was nice to see director Mai Zetterling in a role that suited her. With all the blockbuster junk-filled spectacles, there will always be a place for wonderful little films like this.

'Only Two Can Play' varies uncertainly between sex farce and comedy of manners, but it's an excellent film which gives Peter Sellers a better chance than usual to create a three-dimensional character, rather than relying on putty noses and showy accents. Talking of which: This film takes place in South Wales, and I was distressed by the pushmi-pullyu accents of several of the main characters. Sellers, Virginia Maskell and Richard Attenborough all have a go at doing Anglo-Welsh accents, but none of them manage to be consistent. The authentic Welsh Valleys accent of the excellent character actor Kenneth Griffith (as Sellers's workmate) only emphasises the other actors' dodgy accents. Mai Zetterling's Swedish accent hovers incongruously above the proceedings. (The dialogue establishes her as a war refugee.) Also, the unbilled child actress who plays Sellers's daughter Gwyneth has a very strong North Wales accent, which contrasts rather jarringly with the voices all round her. Refreshingly, this child actress gives an excellent performance.Rather delightfully, 'Only Two Can Play' was actually filmed in South Wales, and it did my heart good to see the graceful hills and row houses of this region as it looked in the early 1960s. This film is full of tiny pleasures, celebrating the British way of life in this post-war period. Little details like the bag of salt inside the packet of crisps, a dialogue reference to conkers (a game which English schoolboys play with chestnuts), or a glimpse of a 1960s page-three girl well and truly pleased me. Even the toilet with the flush-chain next to the washbasin (something which I remember all too painfully) brought back a nostalgic smile to me, now that I no longer have to face this horror in my daily reality. Also, the dialogue includes some delightful figures of speech which are authentic to the period but which are no longer heard in modern Britain ... such as when Sellers nervously admits he has "a case of the screaming ab-dabs".'Only Two Can Play' has a very coherent and believable plot, which is no surprise as this film is based on a novel by Kingsley Amis. Sellers plays John Lewis, an assistant librarian who has a chance for a promotion (and a much-needed rise in wages) if he has an affair with Liz Gruffydds-Williams (played by the very sexy Mai Zetterling), the wife of the local council chairman. Lewis and his wife Jean (the beautiful Virginia Maskell) live in a walk-up flat, sharing a bathroom with all the other tenants. When Jean learns that her husband is cheating on her (or at least trying very hard to do so), Virginia Maskell's reaction is very believable and touching. Full disclosure: I briefly worked with Miss Maskell a few years after she made this film; she was a profoundly talented actress but extremely insecure with it. Her ultimate plunge into depression and suicide was a great tragedy.A fine contingent of British supporting actors are here, including John Le Mesurier ... who seems to have got a look-in during every important English comedy film of this period. Graham Stark, whom I usually find very funny, does an oddly unpleasant turn here as some sort of ill-defined pervert whose precise kink is never established. Raymond Huntley (as the councillor) and Meredith Edwards have too little to do. Richard Attenborough gives an excellent performance as a poncy intellectual, looking like a cross between George Orwell's "fruit juice-drinking, sandal-wearing" pseud and Rolf Harris. When Sellers refers to Attenborough as 'the Catcher in the Rye' I nearly died laughing.This film is not (and doesn't try to be) one of Peter Sellers's slapstick-fests: instead, it's a character study which gives Sellers a chance to show off his **acting** talents rather than his powers of mimicry.SLIGHT SPOILERS: American audiences won't get all the references here. After Sellers breaks off his affair with Zetterling, she acquires a very servile boyfriend whom Sellers suggests she should bring to Cruft's: this is an annual London dog show. The very last shot in the film contains a sight gag which is funny and poignant both at the same go. To strengthen his marriage, Sellers chucks his library job and operates a travelling library (a bookmobile) so that he and his wife can drive through the Welsh countryside together, bringing books to villagers. As they drive down the road, we see a large letter "L" affixed to the rear mudguard of their van. British viewers will recognise this as a learner's plate, which student drivers are required to display. Viewed symbolically, it's a sweetly funny joke: librarian Sellers is still learning his way on the road of life, but now he and his wife are taking that journey together.I'll rate 'Only Two Can Play' 9 out of 10, with only a few examples of bad shot-matching to deprive this movie of a perfect 10. This movie is an excellent change of pace for Peter Sellers.