Follow Me ** (1972, Mia Farrow, Topol, Michael Jayston) – Classic Movie Review 11,205

Director Carol Reed’s offbeat 1971 comedy drama British Follow Me is written by Peter Shaffer, based on half of his double-bill play The Private Ear and The Public Eye. It stars Topol, Michael Jayston and Mia Farrow.

Suspecting an affair, strait-laced British accountant Charles (Jayston) hires seedy private eye Julian Cristoforou (Topol) to follow his free-spirited American wife Belinda (Farrow) – but then Belinda notices she is being followed by Julian and they fall for each other.

Half of the Peter Shaffer double-bill stage play The Private Ear and The Public Eye (the second half) becomes an insubstantial, unsatisfying film in the hands of a surprise director Reed, not known for his light romantic comedy flair.

The extra half-hour of running time on top of the hour-long play seems all padding, giving time for a tour round London. Farrow emerges best of the star acting trio, though Topol is also quite engaging. John Barry’s score and Christopher Challis’s photography have style.

The Private Ear was filmed in 1966 as The Pad (and How to Use It).

A bus poster advertises the 1971 movie Blind Terror starring Mia Farrow.

Also in the cast are Margaret Rawlings, Annette Crosby, Dudley Foster, Michael Aldridge, Michael Barrington, Neil McCarthy, Gladys Henson, Jack Watling, David Batley, David Hutcheson, Lucy Griffiths, Gabrielle Brune, and Joan Henley.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,205

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