''Doctor in Clover'' is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Richard Gordon. It is the sixth of the seven films in the ''

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' series. The film was released in the US as ''Carnaby, MD''. British singer Kiki Dee sang the film's title track.

Synopsis

The film is based at the (fictitious) St Swithin's Hospital, with Leslie Phillips as Dr Gaston Grimsdyke, an accident-prone doctor and

cad Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

, more interested in the nurses than the patients. Grimsdyke is sacked from his job as a medical officer at a men's prison, for his misbehaviour with the Governor's daughter, so he enrolls in a refresher course with his old medical tutor Sir Lancelot Spratt ( James Robertson Justice), who is determined to make him a successful surgeon. Grimsdyke discovers that a plum senior medical post is shortly to become vacant, and starts scheming to be considered, instead of his cousin, who has already been unofficially offered the job. Spratt and the newly appointed hospital matron clash, leading Spratt to 'volunteer' Grimsdyke to romance her and 'soften her up'. But she mistakenly believes Spratt to be her admirer, and many funny and inevitable complications ensue. Grimsdyke falls in love with the much younger Physiotherapist Jeanine ( Elizabeth Ercy) but she considers him to be too old for her. Grimsdyke tries various hilarious methods to make himself look younger and more appealing to Jeanine without success. Eventually he declares his love to her. Her reply to him is that he is very sweet but she says that she has just become engaged to be married to Lambert Symington ( Jeremy Lloyd). At a hospital dance, a 'rejuvenation serum' which Grimsdyke has accidentally injected into Sir Lancelot causes the latter to run amok at the party and romance the new matron. She decides to resign and a new matron is appointed. But she turns out to be equally opposed to Spratt's ideas of how the hospital should be run. When Grimsdyke is told that he was not successful in getting the plum senior medical post, instead of his cousin, because he is considered to be too young looking, this lifts his mood and the film ends.

Main cast

as Dr Gaston Grimsdyke * James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt * Shirley Anne Field as Nurse Bancroft * John Fraser as Dr Miles Grimsdyke * Joan Sims as Matron Sweet *

Arthur Haynes Arthur Haynes (14 May 1914 – 19 November 1966) was an English comedian and star of ''The Arthur Haynes Show'', a comedy sketch series produced by ATV from 1956

as Tarquin Wendover * Fenella Fielding as Tatiana Rubikov * Jeremy Lloyd as Lambert Symington * Noel Purcell as O'Malley * Robert Hutton as Rock Stewart * Eric Barker as Professor Halfbeck * Norman Vaughan as TV Commentator * Terry Scott as Robert the hairdresser *Elizabeth Ercy as Jeanine the Physiopherapist * Alfie Bass as Fleming * Anne Cunningham as Women's Ward Sister * Suzan Farmer as Nurse Holliday *

Harry Fowler Henry James Fowler, MBE (10 December 1926 – 4 January 2012) was an English character actor in film and television. Over a career lasting more than six decades, he made nearly 200 appearances on screen. Personal life Fowler was born in Lambe ...

as Grafton *

Peter Gilmore John Peter Gilmore (25 August 1931 – 3 February 2013), known as Peter Gilmore, was an English actor, known for his portrayal of Captain James Onedin in 91 episodes of the BBC television period drama '' The Onedin Line'' (1971–1980), c ...

as the Choreographer *

Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian. Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second Wor ...

as Digger * Robin Hunter as Sydney *

Nicky Henson Nicky Henson ( Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson; 12 May 1945 – 15 December 2019) was a British actor. Early life Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson was born in London, the son of Harriet Martha ( Collins) and comedian Leslie Henson. Adam Henson, a f ...

as Salesman * Justine Lord as New Matron * Alexandra Bastedo as Nurse at Party * Lionel Murton as Publicity Man * Ronnie Stevens as TV Producer * Danny Green as Ashby (uncredited) * Andre Maranne as Pierre in French Movie (uncredited) * Wendy Richard as Nurse (with false eyelashes) (uncredited) * Jack Smethurst as Long-haired Patient (uncredited)

Production

The novel ''Doctor in Clover'' was published in 1960. Film rights were bought by the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

, whose head of production Earl St John announced the film for production in 1961. However, it took a number of years for the film to be made. The film was formally announced in 1964, one of a series of comedies that Rank were making at the time (others including '' Carry On Cleo'' and '' That Riviera Touch''). The film was shot in

Carnaby Street Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in Soho in the City of Westminster, Central London. Close to Oxford Street and Regent Street, it is home to fashion and lifestyle retailers, including many independent fashion boutiques. ...

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borou ...

and

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

. The opening credits include the following acknowledgement: ''We are grateful for the help and facilities given at Wexham Park Hospital by the staff of the Hospital, Humphreys Ltd. and The Windsor Group Hospital Management Committee''. While the film was shown at its full 101 minutes duration in most other countries, the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of ...

ordered that the UK cinema version had to be cut down to 97 minutes in order to get an "A" (adult) classification, and that duration has remained in later British video releases.BBFC: ''Doctor in Clover (1965)''
Linked 2013-05-16

Reception

The film opened in London on 4 March 1966, with general release following on 3 April.

Critical

"The title alone will go a long way towards selling this picture", noted Graham Clarke in '' Kinematograph Weekly'', "and it backs this with a good ration of knockabout fun."

Box office

The film was among the 15 top money-makers at the British box-office that year.The Times, 31 December 1966, article: ''Most popular star for third time'', page 5, column G. Found in The Times Digital Archive on 11 July 2012.

References

External links

*
''Doctor in Clover''
at Britmovie
''Doctor in Clover''
at BFI * {{Ralph Thomas 1966 films 1966 comedy films British comedy films Doctor in the House 1960s English-language films Films directed by Ralph Thomas Films scored by John Scott (composer) Films shot in England Films set in hospitals Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films produced by Betty Box 1960s British films