- Doctor in Trouble
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Doctor in Trouble 
Directed by Ralph Thomas Produced by Betty Box Written by Jack Davies
Richard GordonStarring Harry Secombe
Leslie Phillips
Robert Morley
Angela ScoularMusic by Eric Rogers Cinematography Ernest Steward Editing by Peter Boita Studio Rank Organisation Distributed by J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors Release date(s) 16 June 1970 Running time 90 minutes Country United Kingdom Language English Doctor in Trouble is a 1970 British comedy film, the last of the long-running Doctor in the House series of British comedy films. It was directed by Ralph Thomas it stars Leslie Phillips as a doctor who gets accidentally trapped on an outgoing cruise ship while it begins a round the world trip. The cast was rounded out by a number of British comedy actors including James Robertson Justice, Harry Secombe and Angela Scoular. It was based on the story Doctor on Toast by Richard Gordon.
Contents
Plot
Renowned surgeon Sir Lancelot Sprat (James Robertson Justice) arranges a cruise for his patient, the famous television star Basil Beauchamp (Simon Dee). The captain of the ship is Lancelot Spratt's brother (Robert Morley).
Doctor Burke (Leslie Phillips) becomes a stowaway by mistake when chasing his girlfriend (Angela Scoular) onto the ship to propose to her. She is one of a group of models doing a fashion shoot with camp photographer (Graham Chapman). Other passengers aboard ship include pools winner Llewellyn Wendover (Harry Secombe) and Mrs. Dailey (Irene Handl), a socially ambitious lady hoping to find a wealthy match for her daughter Dawn. (Janet Mahoney)
Burke is pursued by the Master-at-Arms (Freddie Jones) who, correctly suspects that he does not have a ticket. Burke tries various ruses to try to escape him, including dressing up as a doctor. Eventually he is caught and exposed as a stowaway. Captain Spratt orders him to serve as an orderly, scrubbing the ship.
When the ships doctor falls ill, from a tropical disease, Burke takes over his duties. He is called into action when a Soviet cargo ship sends a request for help, as there is a patient with a severe case of appendicitis. Burke is transferred to that ship to perform the operation. By the time he has finished his own ship has departed, and he is forced to stay on board the Soviet vessel until it reaches Grimsby. By the time he goes to meet the cruise ship, as it returns home, he finds his girlfriend has got married to the ship's doctor, now recovered from his illness.
Meanwhile Dawn Dailey, having failed to snare Captain Spratt, decides to marry Wendover - only to find, once they have tied the knot, that he is not quite so wealthy as she had imagined.
Cast
- Leslie Phillips - Doctor Anthony Burke
- Harry Secombe - Llewellyn Wendover
- Robert Morley - Captain George Spratt
- James Robertson Justice - Sir Lancelot Spratt
- Simon Dee - Basil Beauchamp
- Angela Scoular - Ophelia O'Brien
- Irene Handl - Mrs. Dailey
- Janet Mahoney - Dawn Dailey
- Freddie Jones - Master-at-Arms
- Joan Sims - Russian Captain
- John Le Mesurier - Purser
- Graham Stark - Saterjee
- Graham Chapman - Roddie
- Jacki Piper - Girl in taxi
- Fred Emney - Father
- Yuri Borionko - Model
- Gerald Sim - 1st Doctor
- Yutte Stensgaard - Eve (Model)
- Jimmy Thompson - Ship's Doctor
- Sylvana Henriques - Model
- Marcia Fox - Jean
- Tom Kempinski - Stedman Green
- Anthony Sharp - Chief Surgeon
- Marianne Stone - Spinster
- John Bluthal - TV Doctor
Reception
The film receives two stars out of five in the Radio Times Guide to Films, which describes it as "innocently smutty" and feeling as been made up of "leftovers from Doctor at Sea".[1]
References
- ^ Radio Times Guide to Films p.382
External links
Books Doctor in the House (1952) · Doctor at Sea (1953) · Doctor at Large (1955) · Doctor in Clover (1960) · Doctor on Toast (1961) · Love and Sir Lancelot (1965) · Doctor on the Boil (1970) · Doctor on the Brain (1972) · Doctor in the Nude (1973) · The Sleep of Life (1975) · Doctor on the Job (1976) · Doctor in the Nest (1979) · Doctor's Daughters (1981) · Doctor on the Ball (1985) · Doctor in the Soup (1986)Radio FilmsDoctor in the House (1954) · Doctor at Sea (1955) · Doctor at Large (1957) · Doctor in Love (1960) · Doctor in Distress (1963) · Doctor in Clover (1966) · Doctor in Trouble (1970)TV series Doctor in the House (1969-70) · Doctor at Large (1971) · Doctor in Charge (1972-73) · Doctor at Sea (1974) · Doctor on the Go (1975-77) · Doctor Down Under (1979-80) · Doctor at the Top (1991)The films of Ralph Thomas 1940s 1950s The Clouded Yellow (1950) • Appointment with Venus (1951) • Venetian Bird (1952) • A Day to Remember (1953) • The Dog and the Diamonds (1953) • Doctor in the House (1954) • Mad About Men (1954) • Above Us the Waves (1955) • Doctor at Sea (1955) • The Iron Petticoat (1956) • Checkpoint (1956) • Doctor at Large (1957) • Campbell's Kingdom (1957) • A Tale of Two Cities (1958) • The Wind Cannot Read (1958) • The 39 Steps (1959) • Upstairs and Downstairs (1959)1960s Conspiracy of Hearts (1960) • Doctor in Love (1960) • No Love for Johnnie (1961) • No My Darling Daughter (1961) • A Pair of Briefs (1962) • Carry On Cruising (1962) • The Wild and the Willing (1962) • Doctor in Distress (1963) • Hot Enough for June (1964) • The High Bright Sun (1964) • Doctor in Clover (1966) • Deadlier Than the Male (1967) • Nobody Runs Forever (1968) • Some Girls Do (1969)1970s Doctor in Trouble (1970) • Percy (1971)• Quest for Love (1971)• The Love Ban (1973)• Percy's Progress (1974) • A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979)Categories:- British films
- English-language films
- 1970 films
- British comedy films
- Films directed by Ralph Thomas
- Medical-themed films
- 1970s comedy films
- Doctor in the House
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