Tea and Sympathy

Filming The Servant with Harold Pinter, Losey could treat the homosexual relationship between master and manservant with both visual élan and verbal acuity. Minnelli was less lucky. Robert Anderson's sensitive if fancifully written play, about a housemaster's wife coaxing a pupil out of latent tendencies, was weakened to such a degree through the combined forces of censorship and CinemaScope that the tendencies threatened to disappear completely. Which can hardly be said for the students' garish shirts and pullovers, the phony exterior sets, or the gleaming '50s automobiles - all on constant parade. Yet the film's details - indeed, its very timidity - still ensure fascinating viewing.