Prudence and the Pill

Last updated

Prudence and the Pill
Prudance and the pill.jpeg
Film poster
Directed by Fielder Cook
Ronald Neame (uncredited)
Written byHugh Mills
Produced byKenneth Harper
Ronald J. Kahn
Starring Deborah Kerr
David Niven
Cinematography Ted Moore
Edited by Norman Savage
Music byBernard Ebbinghouse
Distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox
Release date
  • 23 May 1968 (1968-05-23)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3,570,000 [1]
Box office$4,500,000 (US/ Canada) [2]

Prudence and the Pill is a 1968 British comedy film made by Twentieth Century-Fox. It was directed by Fielder Cook and Ronald Neame and produced by Kenneth Harper and Ronald J. Kahn from a screenplay by Hugh Mills, based on his 1965 novel. [3] The music score was by Bernard Ebbinghouse and the cinematography by Ted Moore.

Contents

The film stars Deborah Kerr and David Niven with Robert Coote, Irina Demick, Joyce Redman, Judy Geeson, Keith Michell, Michael Hordern and Edith Evans.

Hayley Mills was originally announced for the part eventually filled by Geeson. Mills had previously co-starred with Kerr and Evans in The Chalk Garden (1964), which was also directed by Neame.

Plot

The film portrays the conflicting and comical attempts by five couples to avoid pregnancy by using contraceptive pills. All of their efforts are ultimately unsuccessful, with the result that all five of the women give birth the following year.

The story revolves around a wealthy London banker named Gerald Hardcastle and his wife Prudence, who live together unhappily, sleeping in separate bedrooms and speaking to each other only when necessary. The five couples in the film are (1) Gerald and his French mistress Elizabeth, or "Liz", (2) Prudence and her doctor, Dr. Alan Huart, (3) the Hardcastles' maid Rose and their chauffeur Ted, (4) Gerald's brother Henry and his wife Grace, and (5) Henry and Grace's daughter Geraldine and her beau Tony Bates.

All of the couples want to use a birth control pill called "Thenol", but none of them wants to admit it. Prudence, Grace, and Ted manage to acquire supplies of pills, Grace through a prescription written by Huart, and Ted from the local chemist, or pharmacist, who happens to be a friend of his. However, Grace soon becomes pregnant, because Geraldine has been stealing her pills and replacing them with aspirin tablets. After Geraldine admits her pill-switching scheme to Grace and Grace tells Gerald about it, Gerald uses the scheme on Prudence to generate incriminating evidence of her affair.

Meanwhile, believing that Rose is too conservative to accept contraception, Ted puts his tablets in a vitamin bottle and tells her she needs them for her health. However, Rose is worried about becoming pregnant, so she switches the pills in her vitamin bottle with the pills in Prudence's Thenol bottle, just moments after Gerald replaces Prudence's Thenol with aspirin. The result, then, is that Rose unwittingly trades Ted's Thenol for Gerald's aspirin. She soon becomes pregnant, and Ted tells Gerald about the pills he gave her, but says nothing about telling her they were vitamins. When Gerald asks her why her Thenol pills failed to work, she asks him how he knew about them, thinking that he has already found out about her taking Prudence's pills, at which point they both realise that she has revealed her guilt.

Now knowing why Prudence is still not pregnant, Gerald buys more aspirin, determined to expose her relationship with Huart. This eventually works, as do whatever measures Grace took to keep her pills away from Geraldine. By the end of the film, Geraldine and Prudence are both expecting.

Eventually, Gerald gets into trouble with both Liz and Prudence. Liz grows dissatisfied in her covert relationship with Gerald, who has been hiding her from his family, and decides to leave him. Prudence finds the letter that Liz wrote to Gerald about her decision, and Gerald finds Huart's Thenol prescription for Prudence. At first, neither Gerald nor Prudence is willing to grant the other a divorce, but Prudence offers to take the blame after becoming pregnant, as long as Gerald will spare Huart's reputation. Gerald accepts this arrangement grudgingly, but before meeting with Huart, he happens to see Liz while driving through town, and she tells him she is going to have his baby. Now able to see her openly, and with a child on the way, Gerald quickly and enthusiastically agrees to an amicable divorce. A few months later, a total of six newborn babies arrive, Rose having had twins.

Cast

ActorRole
Deborah Kerr Prudence Hardcastle
David Niven Gerald Hardcastle
Robert Coote Henry Hardcastle
Irina Demick Elizabeth Brett
Joyce Redman Grace Hardcastle
Judy Geeson Geraldine Hardcastle
Keith Michell Dr. Alan Huart
Edith Evans Lady Roberta Bates
David Dundas Tony Bates
Vickery Turner Rose the maid
Hugh Armstrong Ted the chauffeur
Peter Butterworth chemist
Moyra Fraser woman in tea shop
Annette Kerr Gerald's secretary
Harry Towb racetrack official
Jonathan Lynn chemist's assistant
Michael Hordern (uncredited)Dr. Morley

Reception

Box office

According to Fox records the film required $6,425,000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $7,175,000. [4] In September 1970 Fox reported it had made a profit on the film of $513,000. [5]

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The only achievement of this dismal and unamusing comedy – completed by Ronald Neame after Fielder Cook overran his schedule – is that it manages to skirt the subject of contraception for ninety-two minutes without ever once generating any genuine sexiness or human sympathy. Its pseudomodernity is reflected in the pastiche Victorian Valentines of Richard Williams' title designs and in its inaccurate premise that the pill is available only to married women; and since each of its emancipated heroines manages – the pill notwithstanding – to get speedily pregnant, its portrayal of the new morality is unlikely to influence old-fashioned advocates of self-control." [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Geeson</span> English actress (born 1948)

Judith Amanda Geeson is an English film, stage, and television actress. She began her career primarily working on British television series, with a leading role on The Newcomers from 1965 to 1967, before making her major film debut in To Sir, with Love (1967). She starred in a range of films throughout the 1970s, from crime pictures to thriller and horror films, including The Executioner (1970), Fear in the Night (1972), Brannigan (1975) and The Eagle Has Landed (1976). She played heiress Caroline Penvenen from 1975-1977 in the BBC series Poldark, from the Winston Graham novels.

<i>Great Expectations</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by David Lean

Great Expectations is a 1946 British drama film directed by David Lean, based on the 1861 novel by Charles Dickens and starring John Mills and Valerie Hobson. The supporting cast included Bernard Miles, Francis L. Sullivan, Anthony Wager, Jean Simmons, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt and Alec Guinness.

<i>The Clocks</i> 1963 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

The Clocks is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 7 November 1963 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. It features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The UK edition retailed at sixteen shillings (16/-) and the US edition at $4.50.

<i>Keeping Mum</i> 2005 British comedy film by Niall Johnson

Keeping Mum is a 2005 British black comedy film co written and directed by Niall Johnson and starring Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze. It was produced by Isle of Man Film, Azure Films and Tusk Productions, and was released in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2005, by Summit Entertainment.

<i>Way...Way Out</i> 1966 film by Gordon Douglas

Way...Way Out is a 1966 American comedy science fiction film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Jerry Lewis. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox and produced by Malcolm Stuart. The film, released on October 26, 1966, was both a critical and commercial flop, recouping less than half of its production budget. It is also Lewis' first movie for Fox.

<i>Living Out Loud</i> 1998 American film

Living Out Loud is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard LaGravenese and set in New York City, starring Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah, Martin Donovan, and Elias Koteas.

"Sleeping Dogs Lie" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the fifth episode of series 4 and first broadcast on 21 March 1985. In the episode, Del Boy and Rodney look after Boycie and Marlene's cherished Great Dane, Duke.

<i>The Chapman Report</i> 1962 film

The Chapman Report is a 1962 American Technicolor drama film starring Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom and Glynis Johns. It was made by DFZ Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Richard D. Zanuck, from a screenplay by Wyatt Cooper and Don Mankiewicz, adapted by Gene Allen and Grant Stuart from Irving Wallace's 1960 novel The Chapman Report. The original music was by Leonard Rosenman, Frank Perkins and Max Steiner, the cinematography by Harold Lipstein, the color coordination images and main title design by George Hoyningen-Huene, and the costume design by Orry-Kelly.

<i>Til We Meet Again</i> 1940 romance film

'Til We Meet Again is a 1940 romance film directed by Edmund Goulding and Anatole Litvak and starring Merle Oberon and George Brent as two doomed, star-crossed lovers. It is a remake—with new characters and some different scenes—of the 1932 film One Way Passage. 'Til We Meet Again was remade into the 1954 Mexican 3-D film El valor de vivir.

<i>A Blueprint for Murder</i> 1953 film by Andrew L. Stone

A Blueprint for Murder is a 1953 American film noir thriller directed and written by Andrew L. Stone and starring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters and Gary Merrill.

<i>An Act of Murder</i> 1948 film

An Act of Murder is a 1948 American film noir directed by Michael Gordon and starring Fredric March, Edmond O'Brien, Florence Eldridge and Geraldine Brooks. It was based on a novel by the Austrian writer Ernst Lothar. The film was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival. It is also known by the alternative titles Live Today for Tomorrow and I Stand Accused.

<i>The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie</i> (film) 1969 British film by Ronald Neame

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a 1969 British drama film directed by Ronald Neame from a screenplay written by Jay Presson Allen, adapted from her own stage play, which was in turn based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Muriel Spark. The film stars Maggie Smith in the title role as an unrestrained teacher at a girls' school in Edinburgh. Celia Johnson, Robert Stephens, Pamela Franklin, and Gordon Jackson are featured in supporting roles.

"Both Sides Now" is the twenty-fourth episode and season finale of the fifth season of House. It originally aired on Fox on May 11, 2009.

<i>Return to Peyton Place</i> (film) 1961 film by José Ferrer

Return to Peyton Place is a 1961 American drama film in color by De Luxe and CinemaScope, produced by Jerry Wald, directed by José Ferrer, and starring Carol Lynley, Tuesday Weld, Jeff Chandler, Eleanor Parker, Mary Astor, and Robert Sterling. The screenplay by Ronald Alexander is based on the 1959 novel Return to Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and is a sequel to their earlier film Peyton Place (1957).

<i>The Chalk Garden</i> (film) 1964 film by Ronald Neame

The Chalk Garden is a 1964 British-American film directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Deborah Kerr and Hayley Mills and is an adaptation of the 1955 play of the same name by Enid Bagnold.

"Dolls and Dolls" is the twenty-first episode of the fifth season of the American television series Will & Grace. It was written by Kari Lizer and directed by series producer James Burrows. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 24, 2003. Singer Madonna guest starred in "Dolls and Dolls".

<i>Three into Two Wont Go</i> 1969 British film by Peter Hall

Three into Two Won't Go is a 1969 British drama film directed by Peter Hall and starring Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom and Judy Geeson. The film was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.

Secrets (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 6th episode of the 2nd season of The Walking Dead

"Secrets" is the sixth episode of the second season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on November 20, 2011. In this episode, Glenn tells Dale Horvath that Lori Grimes is pregnant and there are numerous walkers in the Greene barn. Dale confronts Hershel Greene about hoarding walkers in his barn. Meanwhile, Shane Walsh attempts to teach Andrea how to use weapons and Lori agonizes over the decision to terminate her pregnancy or keep the baby.

<i>Fifty Shades Freed</i> Erotic romance novel by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Freed is the third and final installment of the erotic romance Fifty Shades Trilogy by British author E. L. James. After accepting entrepreneur CEO Christian Grey's proposal in Fifty Shades Darker, Anastasia Steele must adjust not only to married life but to her new husband's wealthy lifestyle and controlling nature. The paperback edition was first published in April 2012.

<i>Silent Night</i> (2021 film) 2021 British apocalyptic black comedy film

Silent Night is a 2021 British apocalyptic black comedy film written and directed by Camille Griffin. The film stars Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Roman Griffin Davis, Annabelle Wallis, Lily-Rose Depp, Sope Dirisu, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Lucy Punch, Rufus Jones and Davida McKenzie.

References

  1. Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN   978-0-8108-4244-1. p255
  2. "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, 8 January 1969 p 15. This figure is a rental accruing to distributors.
  3. "Prudence and the Pill". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  4. Silverman, Stephen M (1988). The Fox that got away : the last days of the Zanuck dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox . L. Stuart. p.  327. ISBN   9780818404856.
  5. Silverman p 260
  6. "Prudence and the Pill". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 35 (408): 140. 1 January 1968 via ProQuest.