The third film in the series of British comedies based on the novels of Richard Gordon. Dr.Simon Sparrow ( Dirk Bogarde ) is competing with the conceited Dr.Bingham ( Michael Medwin ) for the job of senior house surgeon. But after accidentally being rude to one of the Board of Governors, he gets the push.
Sparrow takes on one job after another; from Dr.Hackett's ( Lionel Jefferies ) Northern practice to Dr.Potter-Shine's ( Derek Farr ) Harley Street surgery, but each time things go wrong. Eventually, he finds himself right back where he started - at St. Swithins...
A wonderful supporting cast - Dandy Nichols, Edward Chapman, Shirley Eaton ( as a sexy nurse ), Barbara Murray, Ronnie Stevens, Dilys Laye, George Coulouris and so on - enlivens this episodic comedy. Watching it now you can see where most of the ideas for the 1971 London Weekend Television sitcom ( starring Barry Evans ) came from. There's the man who claims to cough up nuts and bolts, a woman panicking when Dr.Sparrow refuses to prescribe her any more red medicine, the patients complaining about the new Doctor being too young, Benskin inheriting a fortune only to learn it must be donated to a hospital of his choice, and so on.
Whereas the main characters underwent name changes for the series ( 'Dr.Sparrow' becoming 'Upton', 'Benskin' inspiring the character of 'Stuart-Clark' etc. ), 'Dr.Bingham' made it into the show more or less intact. Medwin plays him as a tweedy, humourless twit in a bow-tie, whereas Richard O'Sullivan's version was unpleasant and yet very funny.
Back after a one film absence are Muriel Pavlow as 'Joy' and Donald Sinden as 'Benskin'. Bogarde was keen to make this his last appearance in the series, hence the ending implies that he and Joy are to be married. The next film - 'Doctor In Love' - starred Michael Craig and Leslie Phillips. Bogarde returned as 'Sparrow' ( sans 'Joy' ) for 1964's 'Doctor In Distress'.
What secures this a place in British comedy film history is the famous 'big breaths' gag - a mother takes her well-endowed teenage daughter Eva to see the doctor. As Sparrow puts on his stethoscope, he tells her: "Big breaths, Eva!". The lisping girl replies: "Yeth. And I'm only thixteen!".
Sparrow takes on one job after another; from Dr.Hackett's ( Lionel Jefferies ) Northern practice to Dr.Potter-Shine's ( Derek Farr ) Harley Street surgery, but each time things go wrong. Eventually, he finds himself right back where he started - at St. Swithins...
A wonderful supporting cast - Dandy Nichols, Edward Chapman, Shirley Eaton ( as a sexy nurse ), Barbara Murray, Ronnie Stevens, Dilys Laye, George Coulouris and so on - enlivens this episodic comedy. Watching it now you can see where most of the ideas for the 1971 London Weekend Television sitcom ( starring Barry Evans ) came from. There's the man who claims to cough up nuts and bolts, a woman panicking when Dr.Sparrow refuses to prescribe her any more red medicine, the patients complaining about the new Doctor being too young, Benskin inheriting a fortune only to learn it must be donated to a hospital of his choice, and so on.
Whereas the main characters underwent name changes for the series ( 'Dr.Sparrow' becoming 'Upton', 'Benskin' inspiring the character of 'Stuart-Clark' etc. ), 'Dr.Bingham' made it into the show more or less intact. Medwin plays him as a tweedy, humourless twit in a bow-tie, whereas Richard O'Sullivan's version was unpleasant and yet very funny.
Back after a one film absence are Muriel Pavlow as 'Joy' and Donald Sinden as 'Benskin'. Bogarde was keen to make this his last appearance in the series, hence the ending implies that he and Joy are to be married. The next film - 'Doctor In Love' - starred Michael Craig and Leslie Phillips. Bogarde returned as 'Sparrow' ( sans 'Joy' ) for 1964's 'Doctor In Distress'.
What secures this a place in British comedy film history is the famous 'big breaths' gag - a mother takes her well-endowed teenage daughter Eva to see the doctor. As Sparrow puts on his stethoscope, he tells her: "Big breaths, Eva!". The lisping girl replies: "Yeth. And I'm only thixteen!".