Love Thy Neighbour is a 1973 British comedy film directed by John Robins and starring Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Kate Williams and Nina Baden-Semper. It was a spin off from the television series Love Thy Neighbour (1972–76). It included the last film appearance of James Beck.

Plot

Eddie and Joan Booth, a white couple, live next door to Bill and Barbie Reynolds, who are black. Although Joan and Barbie are best friends, Bill and Eddie are complete opposites. Without their husbands' knowledge, Joan and Barbie enter a "Love Thy Neighbour" competition to win a cruise, but must contend with the problem of their antagonistic husbands. To add to the problems, Joan's mother-in-law is coming to stay, and Barbie's father-in-law is coming from Trinidad.

Cast

Reception

Box office

The film was popular at the box office and ranked as the 15th-most-popular of the year in the U.K.

Critical

David McGillivray wrote in The Monthly Film Bulletin: "Another example of domestic farce every bit as asinine and harmless as the TV series from which it derives. The staging, pacing and vaudevillian caricatures appear to be of roughly the same vintage as the jokes." The Manchester Evening News called it "the most successful case I have seen yet of a television comedy series transferring to the big screen." Britmovie wrote: "This dated, politically incorrect tale of bigotries and one-upmanship is sprinkled with ignorant comments and insults that are frequently more laughable than offensive when viewed today."