The Man Who Loved Redheads

Based on one time top playwright Terence Rattigan’s lesser known plays, ‘Who Is Sylvia?’, this early 50’s effort is not exactly in the class of, say, ‘The Browning Version’. Here we have a distinguished cast, led by the titian-haired dancer/actress Moira Shearer (The Red Shoes).

The plot is a relatively simple one – surely it could not have been seen as outrageous at the time. The male lead, Mark St. Neots, played by John Justin (who remembers him as the handsome hero in The Thief Of Bagdad), fell in love as a young man with pretty redhead Sylvia (M. Shearer). They had a brief altercation in a linen cupboard. Forward some years later, and both are now married, but not to each other. Despite Mark’s seemingly happy marriage to his wife, he could never quite erase the image of his first romantic encounter – to him the embodiment of the ideal woman.

One day, and Mark is now a young peer and junior member of the Foreign Office, a chance encounter at a bus stop brings him together with working class redhead Daphne (also played by Shearer), and seeing how she resembles Sylvia from his youth, wastes no time in embarking on an affair with her. This he does by using his friend Oscar’s (Roland Culver) house, and giving himself not only a different name but also a different profession… that of a high-ranking secret service agent. He continues to use his friend’s place for the next few decades to accommodate a number of trysts, always with young and attractive redheads who resemble Sylvia.

After working class Daphne, he encounters Russian ballet dancer Olga (again played by Shearer). This character gave prima ballerina Shearer ample opportunity to show off her various dancing talents, with fabulously choreographed ballet and foxtrot sequences. Olga’s demands to Mark for holding society parties already spells trouble as unbeknownst to him, friends and colleagues from work turn up to the bashes. However, things get worse still when next redhead, Collette (Shearer again) bounces into Mark’s live… for she turns out to be an acquaintance of his actor son Dennis (Denholm Elliott). As the noose tightens around Mark’s neck, he finally confesses his various affairs to his loving wife Caroline (Gladys Cooper) – only to discover she knew all along!

Harry Andrews as Oscar and Mark’s manservant Williams, and Joan Benham as flamboyant socialite Chloe make for a fine supporting cast.

This sparkling romantic comedy is definitely one for Shearer fans everywhere!

Thanks to stunning cinematography by Oscar winner Georges Périnal, The Man Who Loved Redheads looks more radiant than ever in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
[] Original Theatrical Trailer
[] Image Gallery
[] Promotional Material PDFs