Like apparently all Studiocanal releases, Only Two Can Play opens with a warning about potential ‘outdated and offensive attitudes’. I braced myself as usual, my teeth clenched and knuckles white, only to find a modest little comedy of malaise, status and sexual frustration.
John Lewis (Peter Sellers) lives with his wife Jean (Virginia Maskell) and their two children on the top floor of a terraced house in Swansea. It’s cramped and perhaps a little uncomfortable, but there are no awful dysfunctions here. It’s all rather ordinary, and that’s the problem. Slumped in his chair with a toiling spouse and noisy kids, Lewis is a picture of middle-aged discontent. Ungrateful, you might say, but also relatable. He’s brooding, distracted and dissatisfied with his lot. Is this going to be a bleak watch? No, because Lewis has charisma, despite being a librarian.
This charisma is very much Sellers’. It’s a smaller performance, but all of the actor’s subtlety and naturalism is here, along with his effortless slips into physicality, accents and impressions. These layers unfold as Lewis ingratiates himself with Elizabeth Gruffydd-Williams (Mai Zetterling), the glamorous wife of a terribly important councillor. She’s a big fish in a small pond, and she navigates it with timeless feminine wiles, getting exactly what she wants. Lewis’s relationship with Mrs. Gruffydd-Williams is at once carnal and strategic, as she can advance his career with a flutter of her eyes – or can she?
Lewis’s adulterous brinkmanship amounts to an amusing, if unassuming, kitchen sink comedy. Sellers absolutely elevates the piece, mixing wry expressions with awkward subtlety rather than “‘Ow’s yer father” camp. It gets a bit ribald here and there, too, with short skirts and pointy bras. You even see Zetterling’s buttocks, which was pretty out there for 1962 (the BBFC gave it an ‘X’ certificate).
All of this benefits from the Blu-ray transfer, which is so clean, sharp and bold that it passes for a 4K restoration. This is equally true of Studiocanal’s Carlton-Browne of the F.O., which has also received a new high definition release. Only Two Can Play might be a footnote in Sellers’ career, but it is an interesting display of his talents and a minor snapshot of kitchen sink Britain.
Only Two Can Play – Vintage Classics and Carlton-Browne of the F.O. – Vintage Classics are on sale from Studio Canal Vintage Classics today.
