Servant (The)
- Director: Joseph Losey
- Writer: Robin Maugham; Harold Pinter
- Producer: Joseph Losey; Norman Priggen
CGiii Comment
1963...they don't make them like this anymore, unfortunately.
Creepy, sinister, claustrophobic...sophisticated, understated, homoerotic.
A superior film even in the 21st Century.
Stunning.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
The aristocratic Tony moves to London and hires the servant Hugo Barrett for all services at home. Barrett seems to be a loyal and competent employee, but Tony's girlfriend Susan does not like him and asks Tony to send him away. When Barrett brings his sister Vera to work and live in the house, Tony has a brief hidden affair with her. After traveling with Susan and spending a couple of days in a friend's house outside London, the couple unexpectedly returns and finds Barrett and Vera, who are actually lovers, in Tony's room. They are fired and Susan breaks with Tony. Later, Tony meets Barrett alone in a pub and hires him back, and Barrett imposes his real dark intentions in the house, turning the table and switching position with his master.
Cast & Characters
Dirk Bogarde as Hugo Barrett;
Sarah Miles as Vera;
Wendy Craig as Susan;
James Fox as Tony;
Catherine Lacey as Lady Mounset;
Richard Vernon as Lord Mounset;
Ann Firbank as Society Woman;
Doris Knox as Older Woman;
Patrick Magee as Bishop;
Jill Melford as Younger Woman;
Alun Owen as Curate;
Harold Pinter as Society Man;
Derek Tansley as Head Waiter;
Brian Phelan as Man in Pub;
Hazel Terry as Woman in Bedroom