One Wild Oat is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Stanley Holloway, Robertson Hare and Sam Costa with pre-stardom appearances by Audrey Hepburn and Roger Moore as extras. The screenplay was by Vernon Sylvaine and Lawrence Huntington based on Sylvaine's 1948 play of the same title.

Plot

Barrister Humphrey Proudfoot attempts to discourage his Cherrie's infatuation for Fred, a philanderer, by revealing Fred's past. The plan backfires when Alfred Gilbey, the daughter's would-be father-in-law, threatens to reveal the barrister's own shady background.

Cast

Production

It was made at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith with sets designed by the art director Ivan King.The stage production debuted at the Garrick Theatre in London and was directed by Jack Buchanan. The stage version starred Robertson Hare, who reprised his role for the film, and Arthur Riscoe (who replaced Alfred Drayton following his death in 1949), the part being played by Stanley Holloway in the screen version. June Sylvaine, who played Cherrie Proudfoot in the stage and film versions, was the wife of Vernon Sylvaine.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This is a routine adaptation of the stage farce, cast in the familiar mould. Robertson Hare repeats his stage performance with gusto, and has a hardworking team-mate in Stanley Holloway. Innuendo-laden dialogue produces the requisite number of laughs." Variety wrote: "A successful British stage farce of last season, One Wild Oat has been transferred to the screen with the minimum of adjustment. It is given the broad laughter treatment that invariably rates high with British audiences, but it cannot expect to make anything of impact on the U.S. market."