Plot
Alfie Elkins, a handsome, self-centered, narcissistic Cockney chauffeur in London, enjoys the sexual favours of married and single women while avoiding commitment. He is ending an affair with Siddie, a married woman, just as he gets his submissive girlfriend, Gilda, pregnant. Alfie thinks nothing of pilfering fuel and money from his employer and tells Gilda to do the same. Although he refuses to marry her, and despite his constant cheating, Gilda decides to have the child, Malcolm Alfred, and keep him rather than give him up.
Over time, Alfie becomes quite attached to his son, but his unwillingness to marry Gilda causes her to break up with him and marry Humphrey, a kindly bus conductor and neighbour who loves her and is willing to accept Malcolm Alfred as his own. Gilda bars Alfie from any further contact with Malcolm, forcing him to watch from a distance as Humphrey steps into his fatherly role. When a health check reveals Alfie has tubercular shadows on his lungs, the diagnosis and his fear of death, combined with his separation from his son, lead him to have a brief mental breakdown.
Alfie spends time recuperating in a pastoral sanatorium, where he befriends Harry, a fellow patient, a family man devoted to his frumpy wife, Lily. Alfie makes out with one of the nurses, disgusting Harry. When Alfie flippantly suggests that Lily might be cheating on him, Harry angrily confronts Alfie about his attitudes and behaviour.
Released from the convalescent home, Alfie briefly stops working as a chauffeur to take holiday photos of tourists near the Tower of London. He meets Ruby, an older, voluptuous, affluent and promiscuous American who, although accompanied by an older gentleman, gives him her address and telephone number.
Alfie returns to chauffeuring and drives a Rolls-Royce to the sanatorium to visit Harry. He finds Lily finishing a visit with her husband, who asks him to give his wife a ride back to London to save her an exhausting train ride. Neither initially wants to spend time together, but they agree in order to please Harry. Along the way, they stop for tea and then a canoe ride where Alfie seduces Lily.
Later, chauffeuring again, Alfie sees a young red-headed hitchhiker, Annie, who wants a fresh start in London. A lorry driver picks her up just before Alfie gets to her. He follows them to a cafe and steals her away to London. She moves into his bedsit where she proves preoccupied with a love left behind, scrubbing Alfie's floor, doing his laundry and preparing his meals to compensate. The lorry driver finds Alfie in a pub and punches him in the face, causing a bar brawl.
Coming home with a black eye, Alfie grows resentful of Annie and drives her out with an angry outburst, immediately regretting it. Around the same time, Lily informs him that she is pregnant from their one encounter, and they plan for her to have an abortion. Lily comes to his flat to meet the abortionist. During the procedure, Alfie leaves Lily and walks around. He catches sight of his son Malcolm outside a church and witnesses the baptism of Gilda and Humphrey's new daughter. The abortion traumatizes both Lily and Alfie; he breaks down in tears when seeing the aborted fetus, the first time he confronts the consequences of his actions.
Stressed by the situations with Annie and Lily, Alfie decides to change his non-committal ways and settle down with Ruby. However, visiting her, he finds a younger man in her bed. He comes across Siddie, but she has lost interest in him and returned to her husband. Alfie is left lonely, wondering about his life choices and the meaning of existence. A stray dog approaches him, and he takes it in his care as he walks off into the night.
Production
Development
Director Lewis Gilbert bought the film rights with Leslie Grade. Grade sold his share to James Woolf who wanted Laurence Harvey to play the role. Gilbert did not think Harvey would be right but agreed only if Harvey played in the play on Broadway first. Harvey refused, electing to appear in Camelot instead. [2]
Gilbert was going to make No Bail for the Judge with George Peppard for Paramount but the film fell over. Since Paramount still paid Gilbert his fee, Gilbert offered to make Alfie for them instead at half his usual fee. Terence Stamp read the script and wanted to do it for a reduced fee, which made Paramount happy as Stamp was doing The Collector for William Wyler. Gilbert insisted Stamp do the play on Broadway and Stamp agreed; the play flopped. "He really was bad," said Gilbert of Stamp, "he didn't have the experience." Stamp decided not to do the film. Gilbert says his son suggested Michael Caine who was a friend. Gilbert admired Caine's work in The Ipcress File and managed to get him approved by Paramount. [2]
Casting
Vivien Merchant was a last minute replacement for Rachel Roberts who had to drop out because her father was ill. [4]
Filming
It was shot at Twickenham Studios with scenes shot at several locations in London; [5] including Waterloo Bridge which is seen at the beginning and end of the film where the title character walks into the distance accompanied by a stray dog [6] and Tower Bridge which is the backdrop for the photography scene with Shelley Winters. [7]
Title sequences
The film is unusual in that it has no opening credits and the end credits feature photos of the principal actors, as well as of the main technical crew, including director Gilbert and cameraman Otto Heller.
Music
The original film soundtrack featured jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins with London musicians including Stan Tracey on piano, who improvised "Little Malcolm Loves His Dad" (although never credited), Rick Laird on bass, Phil Seamen on drums, Ronnie Scott on tenor sax.
The Sonny Rollins album Alfie , orchestrated and conducted by Oliver Nelson, was recorded in the United States in January 1966. It features Rollins with J.J. Johnson – trombone (tracks 1 & 2), Jimmy Cleveland – trombone (tracks 3–6), Phil Woods – alto saxophone, Bob Ashton – tenor saxophone, Danny Bank – baritone saxophone, Roger Kellaway – piano, Kenny Burrell – guitar, Walter Booker – bass and Frankie Dunlop – drums
The title song, "Alfie", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was sung by Cher over the film's closing credits in the US release reaching #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [8] It became a hit for British singer Cilla Black (Millicent Martin sang Alfie on its British release) and for Madeline Eastman and Dionne Warwick.
