Otley (1969) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A petty crook finds himself mistaken for a murderer and a secret agent.

Cast & Crew

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Dick Clement

Tom Courtenay

Gerald Arthur Otley

Romy Schneider

Alan Badel

James Villiers

Leonard Rossiter

Film Details

MPAA Rating

Genre

Comedy

Adaptation

Spy

Thriller

Release Date

Jan 1969

Premiere Information

New York opening: 11 Mar 1969

Production Company

Bruce Cohn Curtis Films; Highroad Productions, Inc.; Open Road Films, Ltd.

Distribution Company

Columbia Pictures

Country

United Kingdom

Screenplay Information

Based on the novel Otley by Martin Waddell (London, 1966).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 31m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Color (Technicolor)

Synopsis

Lacking a place to sleep, Gerald Arthur Otley, an easygoing drifter who dabbles in petty thievery and womanizing, beds down at the flat of a friend who, unknown to him, is involved in smuggling state secrets. During the night, the friend is murdered, and Otley, suffering from a dreadful hangover, wakes up 2 days later in the middle of an airfield. After returning to London and learning that he is wanted by the police, he is kidnaped, interrogated, and beaten up by Hendrickson, an arrogant bully, and Imogen, a beautiful woman. They release Otley, and he falls into the hands of an effeminate spy, Philip Proudfoot, who turns him over to still another agent, Johnston, for extermination. Otley, it seems, lifted a tobacco holder from his murdered friend, unaware that it contained a tape-recorded message which is wanted by all of his captors. Baffled, Otley turns himself over to the police in the hope of finding a little peace and safety. But Imogen has him released and explains to him that she is a member of Sir Alec Hadrian's Parliament-sanctioned counter-spy organization. Following several more murders and aborted blackmail schemes, Otley is sent to a health farm to trap a treacherous double agent. Although Hendrickson is suspected, Sir Alec is eventually exposed as the true villain. No longer of use to either spy faction, the battered and confused Otley looks with disgust at his brief fling at espionage and returns happily to his Soho life of petty thievery--and the comfort of a Thames houseboat belonging to his girl friend, Lin.

Director

Dick Clement

Cast

Tom Courtenay

Gerald Arthur Otley

Romy Schneider

Alan Badel

James Villiers

Leonard Rossiter

James Bolam

Fiona Lewis

Freddie Jones

James Cossins

James Maxwell

Edward Hardwicke

Ronald Lacey

Phillyda Law

Geoffrey Bayldon

Frank Middlemas

Damian Harris

Robert Brownjohn

Maureen Toal

Barry Fantoni

Bernard Sharpe

Paul Angelis

David Kernan

Sheila Steafel

Ground stewardess

Katherine Parr

Katherine Helm

Ron Owen

Stella Tanner

Jonathan Cecil

Young man at party

Georgina Simpson

Young girl at party

Norman Shelley

1st businessman

John Savident

Ken Parry

Robin Askwith

Kevin Bennett

Kenneth Cranham

Robert Gillespie

Donald Mckillop

The Herd

Jimmy Young

Pete Murray

Crew

Richard Best

Dick Clement

Freddie Cooper

Camera Operator

John Cox

Sound Recording

Bruce Cohn Curtis

Peter Davies

Sound Recording

Austin Dempster

Director of Photography

Carmen Dillon

Jean Fairlie

Wardrobe Supervisor

Carl Foreman

Dominic Fulford

Assistant Director

Cecil Gee Of London

Mr. Courtenay's "Cia" suit

Richard Gill

Russell Hagg

Assistant art Director

Eileen Head

Paul Huson

Paul Huson

Assistant art Director

Joyce James

Ian La Frenais

Irene Lamb

Casting Director

Michael Morris

Stanley Myers

Music comp & Conductor

Stanley Myers

Don Partridge

Basil Rayburn

Production Manager

William Trent

Brian West

Addl Photographer

Denis Whitehouse

Film Details

MPAA Rating

Genre

Comedy

Adaptation

Spy

Thriller

Release Date

Jan 1969

Premiere Information

New York opening: 11 Mar 1969

Production Company

Bruce Cohn Curtis Films; Highroad Productions, Inc.; Open Road Films, Ltd.

Distribution Company

Columbia Pictures

Country

United Kingdom

Screenplay Information

Based on the novel Otley by Martin Waddell (London, 1966).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 31m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Color (Technicolor)

Articles

Otley

January 26, 2011

One of the lesser known spy thrillers of the late sixties, Otley (1968) takes a much more droll, satirical approach to the genre by thrusting an ordinary character a la a Hitchcock thriller into a complex espionage situation. According to the authors of The Eurospy Guide this British film has "a smart and witty script" and is a "spy spoof that succeeds where others have failed...It's refreshing to discover a film of this period that doesn't cross the film too often into camp and one that is genuinely (and intentionally) funny. There are lots of throwaway lines to keep you laughing."

Britmovie calls Otley an "entertaining if uneven comedy-thriller adapted from the Martin Waddell comic novels by TV writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Director Clement keeps events unfolding at a brisk pace and the meandering plot never ceases in finding embarrassing predicaments for the hapless Otley. Tom Courtenay creates a sympathetic character out of the cowardly, sardonic, petty thief who finds himself in the dangerous world of espionage. There's marvellous support from both Leonard Rossiter and Freddie Jones." And the gorgeous Romy Schneider provides the love interest.

Producer: Bruce Cohn Curtis
Director: Dick Clement
Screenplay: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais (screenplay); Martin Waddell (novel)
Cinematography: Austin Dempster
Art Direction: Carmen Dillon
Music: Stanley Myers
Film Editing: Richard Best
Cast: Tom Courtenay (Gerald Arthur Otley), Romy Schneider (Imogen), Alan Badel (Sir Alex Hadrian), James Villiers (Hendrickson), Leonard Rossiter (Johnson), Freddie Jones (Philip Proudfoot), Fiona Lewis (Lin), James Bolam (Albert), James Cossins (Geffcock), James Maxwell (Rollo).
C-91m.

Otley

Otley

One of the lesser known spy thrillers of the late sixties, Otley (1968) takes a much more droll, satirical approach to the genre by thrusting an ordinary character a la a Hitchcock thriller into a complex espionage situation. According to the authors of The Eurospy Guide this British film has "a smart and witty script" and is a "spy spoof that succeeds where others have failed...It's refreshing to discover a film of this period that doesn't cross the film too often into camp and one that is genuinely (and intentionally) funny. There are lots of throwaway lines to keep you laughing." Britmovie calls Otley an "entertaining if uneven comedy-thriller adapted from the Martin Waddell comic novels by TV writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Director Clement keeps events unfolding at a brisk pace and the meandering plot never ceases in finding embarrassing predicaments for the hapless Otley. Tom Courtenay creates a sympathetic character out of the cowardly, sardonic, petty thief who finds himself in the dangerous world of espionage. There's marvellous support from both Leonard Rossiter and Freddie Jones." And the gorgeous Romy Schneider provides the love interest. Producer: Bruce Cohn Curtis Director: Dick Clement Screenplay: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais (screenplay); Martin Waddell (novel) Cinematography: Austin Dempster Art Direction: Carmen Dillon Music: Stanley Myers Film Editing: Richard Best Cast: Tom Courtenay (Gerald Arthur Otley), Romy Schneider (Imogen), Alan Badel (Sir Alex Hadrian), James Villiers (Hendrickson), Leonard Rossiter (Johnson), Freddie Jones (Philip Proudfoot), Fiona Lewis (Lin), James Bolam (Albert), James Cossins (Geffcock), James Maxwell (Rollo). C-91m.

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

Released in Great Britain in 1968; location scenes filmed in and around London.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Spring March 1969

Released in United States Spring March 1969

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