Two Gentlemen Sharing is a 1969 American-British drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff, starring Robin Phillips, Judy Geeson, Esther Anderson, Hal Frederick, Norman Rossington and Rachel Kempson.[1][2] It was written by Evan Jones based on the 1963 novel of the same name by David Stuart Leslie.
The film cost an estimated £380,000 to make.[3] It was not theatrically released in the UK.[1][3]
Plot
An upper-class white Englishman is forced to confront his own feelings and prejudices when the London flat he advertises for sharing is taken up by an Oxford-educated black Jamaican.
Cast
- Robin Phillips as Roddy
- Judy Geeson as Jane
- Esther Anderson as Caroline
- Hal Frederick as Andrew
- Norman Rossington as Phil
- Rachel Kempson as Mrs. Ashby-Kydd
- Ram John Holder as Marcus
- Hilary Dwyer as Ethne
- Daisy Mae Williams as Amanda
- Philip Stone as Ethne's father
- Elspeth March as Ethne's mother
- Avice Landone as Roddy's mother
- David Markham as Roddy's father
- Shelagh Fraser as Jane's mother
- Earl Cameron as Jane's father
Critical reception
Variety wrote: "Film boasts a solid and well-chosen cast, strong physical values for such a medium-scaled item, and a racial story [from a novel by David Stuart Leslie] delivered with unhysterical acumen and, at times, with considerable barbed humor."[4]
John Coleman wrote in the New Statesman: "Another stab at that colour problem. ... it was a pleasure to have a couple of laughs. Evan Jones's script is very alert at the beginning, when the posh black comes to share a flat with the posh white.[5]
Boxoffice wrote: "Chosen as the official British entry to the [1969] Venice Film Festival, this J. Barry Kulick productiona strong, adult story for mature audiences. It should click extremely well with art house clientele."[6]
References
- ^ a b "Two Gentlemen Sharing". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969)". Archived from the original on 16 January 2009.
- ^ a b Alexander Walker, Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974, p. 407–8.
- ^ "Two Gentlemen Sharing". Variety. 1 January 1969.
- ^ "Is Venice Sinking?". New Statesman. 66: 351. 12 September 1969 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Two Gentlemen Sharing". Boxoffice. 95 (24): a11. 29 September 1969 – via ProQuest.
External links
- Two Gentlemen Sharing at IMDb
- Two Gentlemen Sharing then-and-now location photographs at ReelStreets
