JohnHowardReid This entry in the "Doctor At Large" series has a great cast but little direction. The film is really little more than a series of picaresque encounters, enlivened by a solid support cast that largely manages to overcome Ralph Thomas's heavy-handed direction. Dirk Bogarde and Muriel Pavlow are both okay, but it's a pity so much of the plot is given over to Donald Sinden, who is the least graceful member of the cast. He tries vainly to give a Kenneth More edge to the part. Shirley Eaton looks great. It's a real shame her role is so small. And speaking of small roles, Dr Richard Gordon can be spotted in the brief scene with James Robertson Justice. He's the diminutive doctor in the green (? -- my still is in black-and-white) cap and gown.

thinker1691 English medical comedy in the dark medium of a theater, is often subtle, urbane and sleigh of hand. For American audiences, we see British laughter in two ways, either loud and in your face, such as Monte Python's Flying Circus or tall abrupt and seriously stuffy as in this offering. This film " Doctor at Large " is the second installment and although much is expected, falls a bit flat. Despite having two of the finest English actors like Dirk Bogarde as Dr. Simon Sparrow and James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt, the movie, like the story is hampered with fractured scenes and little adhesion to comedy. One wonders if the characters are seeking sympathy for the script or for the jumbled set of patients which range from the very neurotic to the very eccentric. The movie strives for understanding, but despite its best efforts never achieves the nobility of the original. A great waste of serious talent. ***

bob the moo After his adventures at sea Dr Sparrow returns to real life and a proper job in a hospital. Messing up his chances of getting a high level position within the hospital Sparrow heads out looking for another job but finds that nothing is going to come easily to him. Meanwhile his colleague Beskin cheats his way into greener pastures with a roguish mix of charm and good humour. Right, well I've done the best I can at providing a short plot summary to the film and I don't think it is that bad considering that in reality the plot is more a series of scenarios with Sparrow drifting around in the working world.The tone is very much gentle British humour – i.e. not a lot of laughs to be had. It moves slowly enough due to the lack of plot and it is difficult to follow or care about because it does just seem to be drifting aimlessly from one thing to the next. I laughed once or twice at most ("big breaths") but the film just seems happy to exist on a gentle tone rather than having anything sharp or that good in regards material. The cast try hard to raise a laugh or two and push the material as hard as they can but all they can really do is contribute to the gently comic mood. Bogarde is OK in the lead role, hardly memorable but suitable smooth and gentle for the lead. Sinden has fun with a more interesting character and he is funny by force of personality. Justice is hardly in the film but makes his usual impact.Overall this is an OK entry in an OK series of film. It isn't particularly funny and doesn't really have a plot worth speaking of but it has a gently comic air that might appeal to those looking for undemanding British fare to fill the television on a west Sunday afternoon. Nothing special but not bad so to say.

calvertfan Not as good as the first (Doctor In The House), but easily better than the second, Doctor At Sea, and it's great to see Joy (Muriel Pavlow) make a welcome return. James Robertson Justice is at his acerbic best in this installment, and the predicaments Dirk Bogarde gets himself into in the rural practitioners are hilarious. 7.5/10.