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The Caretaker (1963)

Director: Clive Donner

Average user rating
3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Donner's version of Pinter's funniest and most famous play is creditably straight and subdued. Avoiding cinematic intrusions, he allows three of the greatest stage interpretations of Pinter's characters to speak for themselves. Pleasence gives so strong a performance as Davies the tramp that he has never quite been able to escape from it since. Bates and Shaw are both far more restrained than their subsequent careers would lead you to expect. It's rare for a film to rely so heavily on its actors and still be worth watching.

Author: DP 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


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User reviews of this film

  • And I do like the odd wai said...
    Posted on Oct 23 2009 12:55 And I do like the odd waistcoat, though this is fiendishly difficult to do well, outside of formal events. ,
    Report as inappropriate
  • The students then choose said...
    Posted on Oct 22 2009 14:32 The students then choose the project they want to work on. ,
    Report as inappropriate
  • Sean P said...
    Posted on Apr 07 2009 16:37 The whole of the CGI-obsessed film industry should be made to sit down and watch 'The Caretaker' to show them that the film maker can respect his/her audience and that, hey!, there was once a British film industry.
    Throw in other British films from the same year, 'Billy Liar', 'The Servant', 'This Sporting Life', and it really makes you weep. It reflects almost as big a fall in talent as the music industry!
    Without any 'action' to speak of, though, I do wonder if the 'class of 2009' would have the patience (or even be deserving of) 'The Caretaker'.
    Report as inappropriate

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Cast & crew

Director: Clive Donner

Producer: Michael Birkett

Cast: Donald Pleasence, Alan Bates, Robert Shaw full cast

Duration: 105 mins

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