By Violet LeVoit
Mary Had a Little ...
Brief Synopsis
An actress hired to con a psychiatrist falls for her mark.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Edward Buzzell
Director
Agnès Laurent
Mary Kirk
John Bentley
Dr. Malcolm Nettel
Jack Watling
Scott Raymond
Hazel Court
Laurel Clive
John Maxim
Burly Shavely
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Release Date
Jan
1961
Premiere Information
Los Angeles showing: 25 Jul 1961
Production Company
Caralan--Dador
Distribution Company
Lopert Pictures; United Artists
Country
United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Based on the play Mary Had a Little--- by Arthur Herzog, Jr., Muriel Herman, Al Rosen (London, 27 Nov 1951).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 19m
Synopsis
Scott Raymond, a down-and-out British stage producer, is trying to raise £5,000 to put on a new play. At his club he overhears psychiatrist Malcolm Nettel claim that he could hypnotize an expectant mother into producing a perfect baby. Seeing the chance to make some easy money, Scott needles the doctor into wagering £5,000 to back up his theory. Scott then persuades a struggling young actress, Mary Kirk, to pose as a pregnant woman and become Nettel's patient. Nettel accepts her as an ideal subject and begins his psychiatric treatment. Doctor and patient fall in love; and when Nettel is publicly ridiculed because of his theory, Mary decides to help him by actually becoming pregnant. She gets drunk, marches into Scott's flat, and demands that he have sex with her. The unexpected arrivals of both Nettel and Scott's fiancée, Laurel Clive, lead to confessions by one and all. Mary and the doctor decide to marry and start their experiment anew.
Director
Edward Buzzell
Director
Cast
Agnès Laurent
Mary Kirk
John Bentley
Dr. Malcolm Nettel
Jack Watling
Scott Raymond
Hazel Court
Laurel Clive
John Maxim
Burly Shavely
Rose Alba
Duchess of Addlecombe
Patricia Marmont
Angie
Noel Howlett
Pottle
Trevor Reid
Dr. Liversidge
Michael Ward
Hunter
Charles Saynor
Taxi driver
Sidney Vivian
Grimmick
Mark Hardy
Hawkes
Michael Madden
Tigg
Margaret Bull
1st woman
Yvonne Ball
2d woman
Raymond Ray
Park keeper
Clifford Mollison
Watkins
Frances Bennett
Esther
Vincent Harding
Carney
John Cazabon
Fitchett
Tony Thawnton
Shakespeare
Terry Scott
Police sergeant
John Ronane
Stephen John
Interns
Crew
John Blezard
Art Director
Buddy Booth
Production Manager
Jameson Brewer
Screenwriter
Edward Buzzell
Composer
Bruce Campbell
Music
Bruce Campbell
Composer
Desmond Dickinson
Director of Photography
Gerry Fletcher
Makeup
George Fowler
Producer
Barbara Gillett
Wardrobe
Bernard Gribble
Film Editor
James Kelly
Adaptation
Robert E. Kent
Screenwriter
Dudley Lovell
Camera Operator
Philip Martell
Conductor
Peter Miller
Adaptation
Jim Morahan
Art Director
Daphne Vollmer
Hairstyles
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Adaptation
Release Date
Jan
1961
Premiere Information
Los Angeles showing: 25 Jul 1961
Production Company
Caralan--Dador
Distribution Company
Lopert Pictures; United Artists
Country
United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Based on the play Mary Had a Little--- by Arthur Herzog, Jr., Muriel Herman, Al Rosen (London, 27 Nov 1951).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 19m
Articles
Mary Had a Little...
A wink-wink nudge-nudge British sex comedy that hinges on the slightly silly premise that one can produce a perfect baby through hypnotism. ("Hypnotism?" scoffs a skeptic. "Why, what's wrong with the old fashioned way?") Bankrupt theatrical producer Scott Raymond (Jack Watling) overhears this outlandish claim and sees a money-making opportunity: hire a not-at-all-pregnant actress (tres jolie Agnes Laurent, veteran of many ultrasensual films like Mademoiselle Striptease (1957)) to impersonate a pregnant woman, send her for hypnosessions to the innovating psychiatrist (John Bentley), and collect the money when there's no baby at the end. A tittering, post-Pill comedy that would usher in many more British sex farces like Alfie (1966) and the Carry On series.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Mary Had a Little...
A wink-wink nudge-nudge British sex comedy that hinges on the slightly silly premise that one can produce a perfect baby through hypnotism. ("Hypnotism?" scoffs a skeptic. "Why, what's wrong with the old fashioned way?") Bankrupt theatrical producer Scott Raymond (Jack Watling) overhears this outlandish claim and sees a money-making opportunity: hire a not-at-all-pregnant actress (tres jolie Agnes Laurent, veteran of many ultrasensual films like Mademoiselle Striptease (1957)) to impersonate a pregnant woman, send her for hypnosessions to the innovating psychiatrist (John Bentley), and collect the money when there's no baby at the end. A tittering, post-Pill comedy that would usher in many more British sex farces like Alfie (1966) and the Carry On series.
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Released in Great Britain in September 1961.
