The theme of this film,namely a man who has an obsession about redheads was not very original when made.It was particularly common in the forties.Why even The life and death of Colonel Blimp has this as one of its narrative threads. I wonder if the narration by Kenneth More was in the script or added later.It certainlyvdoes little to add to this film.

As a great admirer of Rattigan I'm delighted that this movie is now available on DVD as I never had a chance to see the original stage production, Who Is Sylvia nor, indeed, this screen adaption. Clearly the three people who have reviewed it here did so without knowledge of the troubled history that led Rattigan to attempt a serious analysis of his father Frank's serial womanising albeit with blondes rather than redheads. Unable to make it work dramatically Rattigan junior turned it into a comedy but was unable to persuade his first choice for leading man, Rex Harrison, to take the role and eventually he settled for Robert Flemying who, though a reasonable journeyman actor lacked Rattigan's gift for light comedy. Although they kept the play going by waiving royalties both Rattigan and producer Binkie Beaumont were forced to admit that the play was a failure so why Rattigan chose to adapt it for the screen and how much, if anything, he changed, remains something of a mystery. As I said at the top of the piece I am pleased to have another Rattigan in my collection but it's doubtful if I'll watch it again.

This is a film based upon Terence Rattigan's play WHO IS SYLVIA, which in turn takes its title from both the original poem by William Shakespeare and its setting to music as a song by Schubert (a song with which my grandfather, a baritone, won much admiration). Rattigan also wrote the screenplay. This is definitely not one of Rattigan's happier moments. The film is ridiculously dated and corny, bordering on a travesty. The story is a simple one: the 'hero' played by John Justin fell in love at first sight at the age of 14 with a girl named Sylvia who had red hair and blue eyes, but he then lost contact with her. For the rest of his life he cheated on his wife and had a mews house in London for trysts with a succession of redheads who reminded him of Sylvia. Pretty silly, really. Harry Andrews plays a butler, Roland Culver has a jolly time playing a pal of Justin's who does the same sort of thing, though not with redheads, Denholm Elliott plays an earnest young son of the older Justin, and Kenneth More does a lively job of satirical narration (we do not see him). Gladys Cooper comes in towards the end with her usual assured style. It is Moira Shearer, seven years on from THE RED SHOES (1948), who plays all the redheads in succession, culminating in one who is a Russian ballet dancer named Olga. As Olga, we watch a great deal of Shearer dancing SLEEPING BEAUTY. Indeed, so much does the camera dwell on Shearer as a dancer, that one nearly forgets the film entirely. (By the way, the set and costume designs for that ballet production are simply appalling, quite a disaster.) This was the last feature film directed by Harold French, who by the way lived to be 100 and died in 1997. He made the excellent UNPUBLISHED STORY thirteen years earlier (1942, see my review). It is a pity that this film is based entirely upon wholly obsolete social codes of a bygone era, that its comedy is tepid, and that it is just not very good.

This movie is a romantic comedy from beginning to end. It's a great little movie, based on a Terrence Rattigan play so you know you can't go wrong. The best part of it is seeing Moira Shearer in all four redhead roles. Besides being probably the best ballerina England ever produced, she's beautiful, brilliant, and really good at acting. This movie gives her a chance to display her comedic talents, including a knack for different accents. My favorite is Olga, the Russian ballerina. Moira Shearer herself said this was her favorite among the handful of movies she made, including 'The Red Shoes', one of the greatest movies of all time. The only reason I give this a 9 instead of a 10 is because it's no Red Shoes, but for what it is (romantic comedy, Bob the Moo)it is a perfect little gem. Another reason this movie should be made available on DVD is that it includes Moira Shearer dancing. As Olga she performs parts of 'The Sleeping Beauty', which she actually danced in real life as a member of the Sadler's Wells Ballet. There is precious little surviving video of her famous ballet roles, so this is really a treasure. It would be fantastic if British Lion Films or SOMEBODY put this on DVD so we wouldn't have to settle for home-recorded versions from TV.