Doctor at Sea was the second in the Rank Organisation's popular series of film
adaptations of the autobiographical novels by Richard Gordon.
Although somewhat less memorable than the first -
Doctor in the House (1954)
- the film has its charms and
some great comic moments. Dirk Bogarde once again plays the adorable Dr Sparrow
(his most popular screen persona) whilst the magnificent James Robertson Justice appears
to taunt him, not as Sir Lancelot Spratt, but as the even more lugubrious Captain Hogg.
Joan Sims also crops up again, also in a different guise, just a few years before
making her Carry On debut in Carry on Nurse (1959).
One of the main selling points of Doctor at Sea is that it features
the French beauty Brigitte Bardot in her first English speaking role.
The actress had already made her mark on French cinema through such films as
Willy Rozier's Manina, la fille sans voile (1952)
and Le Portrait de son père (1953)
but it would be another year before she became an international sex goddess, after
her appearance in Roger Vadim's
Et Dieu... créa la femme (1956).
Here, Bardot is at her most winsome and works surprisingly well with
the straitlaced Bogarde.
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Film Synopsis
Newly graduated from medical school, Dr Simon Sparrow joins a medical practice but finds
himself the victim of the amorous intentions of his partner's daughter. His solution
is to runaway to sea - to become a ship's doctor on a cargo ship, where his patients include
the irascible Captain Hogg and a crew of sex-starved mariners. At the next
port of call, Sparrow and his new friends go ashore and soon end up in jail. When
the ship sets off once more, it has two extra passengers: Muriel, the daughter of the
shipping line, and her singer friend, Hélène. Sparrow's professional
duties are once more confounded by his attraction for the fair sex...
Script: Richard Gordon, Nicholas Phipps, Jack Davies
Cinematographer: Ernest Steward
Music: Bruce Montgomery
Cast:Dirk Bogarde (Dr. Simon Sparrow),
Brenda de Banzie (Muriel Mallet),
Brigitte Bardot (Hélène Colbert),
James Robertson Justice (Capt. Hogg),
Maurice Denham (Easter),
Michael Medwin (Sub-lieutenant Trail),
Hubert Gregg (Archer),
James Kenney (Fellowes),
Raymond Huntley (Capt. Beamish),
Geoffrey Keen (Hornbeam),
George Coulouris ('Chippie' the Carpenter),
Noel Purcell (Corbie),
Jill Adams (Jill),
Joan Sims (Wendy Thomas),
Cyril Chamberlain (Whimble),
Toke Townley (Jenkins),
Thomas Heathcote (Wilson),
Abe Barker (Old Harry),
Frederick Piper (Sandyman),
Michael Shepley (Jill's Father)
Country: UK
Language: English
Support: Color
Runtime: 93 min
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