Otley (1969)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"Otley" could be described as a working-class British version of the classic "North By Northwest" formula - an innocent man is mistaken for a spy and hunted by "good" spies, "bad" spies, AND the police - except that Otley himself is out of work at the moment! The comedy is highly uneven, but the plot itself is good enough for "Otley" to hold your interest even as a "serious" spy movie (complete with one especially squishy death, which I won't spoil here). Romy Schneider is radiant and charming, but underused: the film could have done more with its role-reversal of her being in charge and him being the tag-along. Very hard to find today, you'll probably have to settle for a DVD-R copy if you want to see this. **1/2 out of 4.

'Otley' is a definite film of its time, showing swinging 60s London and presenting Tom Courtenay in one of his defining but less-known roles, as someone who wants to be a spy but wonders what he's got into when he gets his wish. Otley is an inept spy, and was probably an even more inept drifter.Full of colour, with a great score, and many fruity cameos, this film should be better known as it is a lot of fun, with a great central performance and the chance to get really engrossed in the period. Courtenay and Romy Schneider are charming, while character greats such as Leonard Rossiter, Alan Badel, and Freddie Jones add to the overall spoof feel.

This is one of my favorite 60's films. It's based on the first of a series of books by Martin Waddell about Gerald Arthur Otley, a young man whose occasional pocket-picking inadvertently lands him in the middle of a spy plot. (The books are great fun, too). Poor Otley's in way over his head, can't tell the good guys from the bad, and like Dorothy in "the Wizard of Oz," simply wants to go home! Suddenly his dull old life doesn't look so bad. There are many funny sequences, but the one in which he takes his driving test is truly inspired.Tom Courtenay gives one of his best performances as the lead character, and he's well supported by a terrific cast of veteran character actors. Leonard Rossiter has an especially funny cameo. Moreover, "Otley" has one of the catchiest soundtracks of that era, a quirky mix of classical and rock tunes, and you'll find yourself humming the main theme for days after you've watched the film.Why isn't this available on DVD? Or even VHS? It's a major oversight. "Otley Forever!"

Otley contains several inspired scenes with Tom Coutenay at his most outrageous. But, the bad scenes outweigh these moments of inspiration. This is especially true whenever Freddie Jones appears on camera to take over proceedings. His first appearance inspires guffaws. But his relentless clowning grows quickly tedious.