The Battle of the Sexes (1959) - film review

When Old Macpherson dies, his son Robert inherits his thriving Edinburgh-based tweed clothing business.  On his return to Scotland from America, the young Macpherson runs into Angela Barrows, a business consultant who agrees to look over his company with a view to modernisation.  The changes that Angela immediately instigates are ill-received by Macpherson’s staff, particularly the humdrum accountant Mr Martin.  When he realises that he might be for the chop, Mr Martin decides there is only one course of action.  Angela Barrows must die...

Even by the late 1950s, when it was first released, The Battle of the Sexes must have seemed somewhat dated.  Today, it feels positively antediluvian.  Still, it offers a superlative cast, including two of Britain’s legendary comedy performers, Peter Sellers and Robert Morley, and is briskly directed by Charles Crichton.  The latter is of course best known for his classic Ealing comedies, Hue and Cry (1947) and The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and whilst this later comic offering barely passes mustard when compared with Crichton’s earlier triumphs, it is nonetheless fun to watch.

Never mind the daft plot and the unsubtle swipes at feminism and modern business practices.  Just enjoy Sellers’s bravura turn in one of his more unhinged character roles, a meek office clerk who believes he can commit the perfect murder (with an egg whisk).  The satirical edge may be blunter than a trades union spokesman after he has been handed a parking ticket but Sellers and Morlay come up with the goods, yanking as much humour as they can humanly manage from a so-so screenplay.

© Derek Adamson 2010

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