The Battle of the Sexes [Blu-ray]

Director: Charles Crichton

Overview

In this comedy, a tweed factory is thrown into disarray when the owner hires an impossible-to-please American efficiency expert. Mr. Martin is the longtime accountant who masterminds a plan to make everyone think the new female executive is insane.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/01/2016
UPC:	0738329208486
Original Release:	1960
Rating:	NR
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:24:00
Sales rank:	40,908

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Constance Cummings	Angela Barrows
Peter Sellers	Mr. Martin
Robert Morley	Robert Macpherson
Moultrie Kelsall	Graham
Ernest Thesiger	Old MacPherson,Old MacPherson
Jameson Clark	Andrew Darling
Alex Mackenzie	Robertson
Roddy McMillan	Macleod
Donald Pleasence	Irwin Hoffman
James Gibson	Night Watchman
Abe Barker	Mr. Meekie
Noel Howlett	Mr. White
Gordon Phillott	Mr. Munson
MacDonald Parke	C.J.
Patricia Hayes	Jeannie MacDougall
Eric Woodburn	Wine Shop Owner
Donald Bisset	Tobacconist
Aletha Orr	American Wife
Sydney Keith	American Husband
Sam Wanamaker	Narrator
Michael Goodliffe	Detective
Norman MacOwan	Jock Munro
William Mervyn	Detective's Friend
R. White	Delivery Man
Fred Griffiths	1st Porter
Glyn Houston	2nd Porter
Robert Crewdson	Policeman
Anne Sharp	Usherette
Stanley Black	Composer

Technical Credits

Monja Danischewsky

Monja Danischewsky	Producer,Screenwriter
Ken Cameron	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Peter Sellers puts his subtle comic skill to work in this 1959 film, giving a performance that foreshadows the drollery of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in his Pink Panther films of the '60s and '70s. As Mr. Martin, the meek head clerk of the House of MacPherson (an old Scottish textile business that makes traditional tweeds), he attempts to sabotage a crusade by efficiency expert Angela Barrows (Constance Cummings) to modernize the plant and make synthetic tweeds. To save his company and his job -- as well as the good name of Scottish craftsmanship -- from American-style automation, he schemes behind the unwitting Barrows' back to subvert her efforts, only to see his plans go awry. So, as a last resort, Mr. Martin decides to murder her, and the real fun begins. When attempting to execute Mr. Martin's plan, Sellers is at his bungling best, sometimes improvising during moments of inspiration. Mark Twain once observed that being funny requires one to appear deadly serious, and no one does this better than Sellers, even when situations verge on slapstick. Sellers gets capable supporting help from Robert Morley as Robert MacPherson, the head of firm who falls prey to Barrows' machinations, and from Donald Pleasence as one of Mr. Martin's co-workers. Although director Charles Crichton's film is a comedy, it has a serious message: modernization and automation, though good per se, can bring unwelcome consequences that profoundly affect the lives of workers -- consequences that social planners need to consider before introducing changes. Unfortunately, some viewers may miss this message due to the misleading title of the film. The story really isn't about a battle between the sexes, rather, it is about a battle between tradition and modernity, and between Scottish methods and American methods.