‘Entertaining Mr Sloane’ Review

When you enjoy classic British comedies, there are certain ones that have a certain quirkiness to them. One of these is arguably Entertaining Mr Sloane. A darkly Gothic comedy about a man who uses his body to manipulate his victims, but with unforeseen circumstances.

Entertaining Mr Sloane

When Kath (Beryl Reid) discovers the sexy Mr Sloane (Peter McEnery) in the cemetery, she at once offers to let him become her lodger.  Mr Sloane accepts, and proceeds to manipulate Kath and her brother Ed (Harry Andrews), but problems arise when their father ‘Dadda’ (Alan Webb) recognises him as the murderer of his past employer.

Based on a play by Joe Orton, the homoerotic nature of Entertaining Mr Sloane is easy to see, even if Sloane himself doesn’t profess himself to be gay. If anything, he just uses his sexuality to manipulate people and is willing to do whatever it takes to get his way.

It is telling that the older Dadda (as he is known) is the one person that he can’t manipulate, and this causes much of the tension in the household. Kath and Ed though are easy to manipulate as they constantly salivate over the body of Sloane, and he has his way with them, getting his way every time.

In some ways Entertaining Mr Sloane is an oddity, but it is also a film that is ahead of its time. Sexuality is not fixed in the film, it is more fluid, especially to Mr Sloane himself. In many ways, the people who have the fixed sexuality (Kath and Ed) are the weaker, up to a certain point in the movie. When they lose their inhibitions, they become free, and that is at the cost of Sloane’s freedom.

When Sloane loses his power though, they regain it. Though it is arguable that at that point, his two victims have found a certain freedom in the marriage that takes place where Mr Sloane becomes theirs.

Entertaining Mr Sloane is dialogue heavy, but this comes from the fact that it was originally a play. There is a warped sense of humour interwoven within the script, and if you can keep up with all of the story threads you do pick up that Kath and Ed are two very strange individuals, and far more manipulative that Sloane himself. If anything, he falls into a similar trap which he has set up for them, and that is the beauty of the situation they are in.

For fans of British cinema Beryl Reid and Harry Andrews are icons, and they don’t let the viewer down in their performances. Peter McEnery is good as the manipulative and selfish Mr Sloane, and is able to handle the complicated character who only really feels truly evil when he bullies Dadda. Reid has the standout performance though with her memorable performance, who seems so innocent, but is more manipulative than the audience would first think.

Fans of classic comedies should make time to watch Entertaining Mr Sloane, especially now that it has been digitally restored. A darkly funny oddity of a movie, it is a good example of the strange little comedies that only British cinema can create.

Entertaining Mr Sloane is available on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK now.

Be sure to like Pissed Off Geek on Facebook and follow them on Twitter to keep up to date with all the news and reviews.

Leave a Reply