Entertaining Mr. Sloane started life as a three-act stage performance written by Joe Orton, eventually making its way to television in 1968; then in 1970, writer Clive Exton adapted the play into a feature film directed by Douglas Hickox. The overall narrative and crux of Orton’s original writing remains largely the same here, except of course able to utilize a larger setting and dramatic camera angles to heighten the black comedy already apparent within the story. With only four characters to its ensemble, casting is also a critical matter; here, Peter McEnery stars as the boyish Sloane, a jobless loaf who gets picked up by Kath (Beryl Reid) in a cemetery and invited to live in her largish manse with her father Dadda (Alan Webb) and occasionally visiting brother Ed (Harry Andrews).
The whole thing translates quite well to the big screen despite Entertaining Mr. Sloane‘s relatively simple setup and small scale. Exton’s script features a dry and verbose style, with its characters quick to banter about exceedingly little. Even in these minor moments, subtle barbs and jabs coming from Sloane are played at odds with Kath’s overly inviting and lonesome demeanor or Ed’s surly fronting. Much of the film’s comedy comes from the understated dialogue between the four characters, and they’re not all sharing the screen at once, the ensuing antics and trade-offs of Sloane between Kath and Ed hint at the coming schism between the two of them in the film’s finale. McEnery’s excellent facial expressions also help amplify these altercations.
The subtlety of the dialogue is often countered with a darker current underneath. Dadda immediately recognizes Sloane as being involved in his employer’s murder, and the film has an implied sinisterness as McEnery shifts from excessively cheery double-entendres to threats in back-to-back scenes. That black comedy brings out the best in all of the players; everyone here is ready and willing to cross the line, and Entertaining Mr. Sloane often does with aplomb. Reid’s playful cougar switches from mothering to sultry sexual innuendos, while Andrews’ Ed hides a closeted homosexuality that occasionally elicits advances from Sloane. And Webb is excellent as the doddering Dadda, who’s tormented by the thought of Sloane impregnating his daughter or murdering them in their sleep.
It’s also interesting how Hickox uses setting to the film’s advantage in a way that’s difficult for stage. The moody house is at the forefront, utilizing a number of specific rooms as characterization. The movie is also bookended by funerals, one full of religious imagery at the cemetery and the other in the house itself. Eventually, Sloane’s entrapment begins to feel like a prison as each scene inevitably returns to the house and, in some respects, his captors.
While Entertaining Mr. Sloane‘s brand of comedy might not be for everyone and may come across as too plodding in its steady building, it’s certainly an achievement that Hickox’s adaptation is so quiet in its raucousness without becoming outright absurd. The film’s finale is bleakly divine, flipping the narrative and finding Sloane the overall butt of the joke. The film might be about entertaining Mr. Sloane, but it also manages to be a compelling and complex portrayal of Orton’s four-person stage play.
Blu-ray
Severin Films has released Entertaining Mr. Sloane on Blu-ray with a 2K scan from the original camera negative, I believe the same as a 2017 Blu-ray release from StudioCanal. Overall, the results are very good. It appears the negative is in pretty good shape since there’s only minor damage throughout, including a rougher opening credits sequence. Film grain is medium-bodied but rarely overly chunky except in some of the movie’s darker sequences, which can sometimes lose detail in the shadows. Otherwise, skin and clothing textures look appropriately sharp, with male beards and stubble standing out the most along with the excellent wardrobes. Also notable is the level of detail visible with the set design, especially in Kath’s pink-hued room with all of her knickknacks. Color grading displays a vividness, especially in the film’s most pronounced areas: greenery surrounding the house, and the bubble gum pink of Ed’s Pontiac. While a 4K scan may have heightened some of the softer areas and provided better resolving of black levels, Entertaining Mr. Sloane is still very attractive here.
For audio, we get a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track. Dialogue is strong and clear, without any drops or noticeable hissing behind it. The standout is the musical soundtrack featuring a title song by Georgie Fame, which generally plays during montages and quite literally sings out what’s happening onscreen. It’s a catchy tune that’s well-represented by the audio track here, and it also adds to the inane comedy of the film. Sound effects are also appropriately mixed, with the occasional slapstick-esque flourish played for laughs throughout. English subtitles are also included.
Severin has assembled a veritable slew of extras for this disc. First and foremost is a new audio commentary with Nathaniel Thompson and Joe Orton scholar Dr. Emma Parker. With Parker’s limitless knowledge of Orton, she lays out a biography of the writer at the beginning of the film before Thompson and Parker get into a more conversational dialogue about the film itself, covering its controversies, themes, and critical reception. Thompson often refers to Parker’s expertise and sort of poses the questions while Parker relays the info – it’s a great setup and an excellent listen accompanying the movie.
There are also a number of new extras specific to this Blu-ray release. “All My Sloanes” is a 30 minute overview of the various renditions of Entertaining Mr. Sloane throughout the years, including interviews with Sloane portrayers Maxwell Caulfield, Malcolm McDowell, and Adam Ant. Screenwriter David McGillivray discusses playwright Joe Orton and the struggles of the UK censorship of gay storylines; this 18 minute interview gives a nice overview of the various works of Orton and appreciation for his craft. Scholar Rosie White provides a 22 minute interview on the late Beryl Reid, including an overview of her body of work and pushing the boundaries of comedy and sexuality. The final new feature is a visual essay called “Threads of Desire” where Elissa Rose documents the various costuming throughout the film and its thematic resonance, including contextual info about particular threads. Archival features are collected from the previous StudioCanal release including interviews with Peter McEnery, biographer John Lahr, and Joe Orton’s sister Leonie Orton. An archival locations featurette visits contemporary settings from the film with Richard Dacre. Finally, a trailer is also included.
This release comes with a nice slipbox housing the Blu-ray case. See accompanying scans.
Extra Features
- 2K scan from the original camera negative
- NEW Audio Commentary With Film Historian Nathaniel Thompson And Orton Scholar Dr. Emma Parker
- Archival Interview With Actor Peter McEnery (1080p; 9:28)
- NEW All My Sloanes – 60 Years Of Joe Orton’s Mr. Sloane, Featuring Malcolm McDowell And Maxwell Caulfield (1080p; 26:36)
- Archival Interview With John Lahr, Author Of Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography Of Joe Orton (1080p; 45:00)
- Archival Interview With Leonie Orton Remembering Her Brother Joe (1080p; 27:42)
- NEW Ortonesque – Screenwriter David McGillivray On The Lasting Influence Of Joe Orton (1080p; 17:35)
- NEW Act Of Character – Rosie White On The Inimitable Identities Of Beryl Reid (1080p; 22:29)
- Archival Locations Featurette With Richard Dacre (1080p; 10:14)
- NEW Threads Of Desire: Costuming And Sexuality In ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE – Video Essay By Costume Historian Elissa Rose (1080p; 10:01)
- Trailer (1080p; 3:02)
