''What's Good For The Goose'', also known as ''Girl Trouble'', is a 1969 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon sp ...

and starring

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

.John Hamilton, ''Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser'', Fab Press, 2005 p 126-127Simon Sheridan, ''Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema'', Titan Books 2011 p 61-63 It was written and directed by

. The film features pop music by Electric Banana, otherwise known as the

Pretty Things The Pretty Things were an English band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent. They took their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song "Pretty Thing". A pure rhythm and blues band in their early years, with several singles charting in the Unite ...

. The film uses locations around the

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

area, including the

Birkdale Palace Hotel The Birkdale Palace Hotel was a luxury hotel located in the Lancashire coastal resort of Birkdale, Southport, on the north-west coast of England. The building towered over the surrounding area for over a hundred years before being demolished in ...

Plot

Norman Wisdom plays a 50-something assistant

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

manager called Timothy Bartlett whose working life and marriage in London have become lacklustre. After the death of his superior, he is sent in his place to a bankers' conference in Southport, and he gives a lift to two fun-loving female students, Meg and Nikki ( Sally Geeson). Initially annoyed by them, he ends up becoming interested in Nikki. Wandering around to find something to do one night, he ends up meeting her, at a Mod Band venue where the band

The Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

are playing. After this, she comes back to his hotel where they spend the night together. The following day, during the conference, he can only think of her. He abandons his work responsibilities to have a perfect day with her, taking in all the seaside amusements and recapturing his youthful energy. He tells her he has fallen in love with her and rents a 'love nest' for them. Her friend tries to warn him not to get too serious, as Nikki doesn't want a relationship. He comes back to their love nest, only to find all the hippies are hanging out there having sex, and have vandalised it. When he goes to the bedroom, he finds that Nikki is in bed with another man of her own age. Her freind Meg tells him he was just a two-day novelty for her and she has already moved on to someone her own age, and that's the nature of the free love scene. However, inspired by the time he has spent there, he invites his wife to join him at the resort. She doesn't recognise him when he meets her at the airport, as he is now wearing counterculture scene clothing. He takes her to buy "young" clothes, and goes off with her to the places Nikki and he had gone to where he had such a good time. They replicate the perfect day he had with Nikki, though his wife doesn't enjoy everything as much as Nikki did. He finds he can have (almost) as much enjoyment with his wife, and ultimately, the couple embrace dressing "young" and doing cool now things.

Cast

as Timothy Bartlett * Sally Geeson as Nikki * Sarah Atkinson as Meg *

Sally Bazely Sally Bazely (born 1933) is a British television actress. Her main roles were in ''Father, Dear Father'' (1968–70) and ''Harriet's Back in Town'' (1972). She also played Norman Wisdom's wife in the comedy film '' What's Good for the Goose'' (19 ...

as Margaret Bartlett * Stuart Nichol as Bank Manager *

Derek Francis Derek Francis (7 November 1923 – 27 March 1984) was an English comedy and character actor. Biography Francis was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in ''The Tomb of Lige ...

as Harrington *

Terence Alexander Terence Joseph Alexander (11 March 1923 – 28 May 2009) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama '' Bergerac'', which ran for nine series on BBC One between 1981 and 1991. ...

as Frisby *

Paul Whitsun-Jones Paul Whitsun-Jones (25 April 1923 – 14 January 1974) was a Welsh character actor. Born in Newport in Monmouthshire, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood in Middlesex. He started his acting career in 1948 with two years a ...

as Clark * David Lodge as Porter * Karl Lanchbury as Pete *

Hilary Pritchard Hilary Pritchard (1942–1996) was a Manx film and television actress. Career Television roles included parts in '' The Avengers'' episode "Take-Over" and three episodes of the BBC's department store sitcom ''Are You Being Served?''. Pritcha ...

as Cashier in Discotheque

Production

There was also a German dubbed version of the film which bears the title ''Öfter mal was Junges!!'' This version is 27 minutes shorter than the UK version running to 75 minutes instead of 102 minutes. It contains alternative longer versions of the hotel bedroom scenes in which Sally Geeson is

topless Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is barechestedness, also commonly called shirtlessness. Expose ...

rather than remaining in her bra as she does in the UK print (which is the generally available version). The text in the opening credits is completely redone in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

over the same unfettered film sequence as in the UK version meaning it must have been prepared concurrently.

References

External links

* 1969 films 1969 comedy films Adultery in films British comedy films Casual sex in films Films directed by Menahem Golan Films set in London Films set in Lancashire Films shot in Lancashire Midlife crisis films Southport Films with screenplays by Menahem Golan 1960s English-language films 1960s British films {{1960s-UK-comedy-film-stub