Male of the Species (1969)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Boring

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I had never heard of this one until a few months ago when Network announced they were releasing it. Hosted by Laurence Olivier it's a very simple yet compelling three part drama focused around Mary MacNeil. The first episode focuses on her relationship with her father (played by Sean Connery) who has a tendency to lie all the time. In the second Michael Caine plays an office Romeo who she tries to teach a lesson to for his ways but it backfires on her when she realises he isn't the slime-ball she thought he was and the third stars Paul Scofield in the role of a smooth talking barrister who manages to woo her.I see there are plenty or reviews on here from people wanting to see this again, well now they can thanks to this release from Network in the U.K.

A wonderful mini series with fine acting all round. Memorable performances from Connery, Caine and Schofield. The film covers a range of a females encounters with the 'Male of the Species' in the persons of her Father, boy friend and an older suitor. There have been a many fine mini series over the years which have been repeated, however, this one was an outstanding piece of work and seem to have disappeared. I sincerely trust that it has not been lost for it is of exceptional quality. There are so many light weight 'efforts' around at this time it would be a change to re-visit this drama. I saw it many years ago and would really appreciate the opportunity of obtaining DVD.

Sir Paul Scofield and Michael Caine (and do I remember correctly Sean Connery doing narration?), in a TV release - what a treat! I remember this as one of the finest things on TV from my adolesence (otherwise spent watchingThe Monkees, I Love Lucy re-runs, and F-Troop), a pity that it has disappeared. I've been looking for it since VHS came around, but I guess it was too intelligent to be a blockbuster. I wish I remembered more of it, I was 12 at the time and I imagine a lot of it went straight over my head, but now even the script is nowhere to be found. The actress, Anna Calder-Marshall, went on to star the following year as Cathy in "Wuthering Heights" to Timothy Dalton's Heathcliff (not your Laurence Olivier version, sexy and closer to the book in some ways). In reading the other comments here, my memory is still not jogged enough to remember much more about this, although I thought in the last act of this trilogy she met with her comeuppance - can anyone remember a more linear description of the plot of this 1969 gem? I remember that the title seemed misleading, the male figures gravitating around the central character - the girl - were of less consequence than her reaction to them, it seemed to say more about the FEmale of the species than the male, and her betrayals, her disloyalties and shortcomings seemed more shocking than those of the men in her life.

I saw this film twice when I was 14, in the company of my family. It was a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, and it ran a second time as a summer rerun. We recorded it on audio cassette [VHS didn't exist yet], and that tape was later stolen; however I listened to it a number of times. It was what my brother always called, "a battle of words."Anna Calder-Marshall was a young woman whose view of the male of the species was shaped by her relationship to three examples: her father, a playboy, and an older man.Sean Connery was excellent as a lower-class worker with no respect for women, least of all his female boss. His encounter with her becomes an anecdote to a coworker. `She says, I don't like the way you look at me. I've got to you look at you, you're the boss. She says she doesn't like the way I look at her. So I gave her one, right across the backside.' The coworker replies, `Oh you never!'`Are you calling me a liar, then?'`No, no! I was only enjoyin'You get the impression his boss really likes him and hates him at the same time. From what I can remember, a fight with his daughter occupies the rest of the act, and she leaves home.The second act takes place at her job. Michael Caine plays a sort of reluctant playboy. He works with a man who can't leave the ladies alone, even though he's married. Every time this man gets in over his head, Caine is called in to seduce her away, and then let her down gently. He almost refuses to help with Anna's character because it has often proved a dangerous game. `And what about that last one, the one with the brother who was kinky for hatchets. You failed to tell me about him.' What Caine doesn't know is that the women in the office are tired of the game, too, and have put Anna, the ice queen into the game to hurt him.That act is the funniest, with Caine trying to get close to her. He asks her to promise not to `glacial scrape me with those two ribbons of ice you call lips.' When she asks what's so great about kissing, anyway, he replies, `If you have to ask, you aren't doing it right.' In the end, her plan works, he falls for her, and she hurts him. But it is a hollow victory, and you can tell it hurts her, too, though I doubt she knows why.And that leads to the comfortable older man, played by Paul Scofield, Oscar winner for A Man For All Seasons. I remember this act the least, probably because the first act had James Bond [I was 14, remember] and the second act had lots of fast, witty dialogue. But one can see the balance of the play. Scofield was the antithesis of her father - kind, caring, compassionate, thoughtful, and well-educated. He must have seemed safe, the dreaded `s' word. What I do seem to remember is that this relationship, also, did not work out. And if she left it somewhat bewildered as to why it didn't work, I seem to think she gained some balance in her life. Or was it the viewer, who watching it, gained the balance and the wisdom.In any event, I have to agree with other reviewers I've seen on this site, that this is a very wanted film. I remember it has some of the charming early 60's television production values. While not as slickly produced as later Hallmark films, it has four strong performances and story that keeps one from noticing any flaws. At least that's how I remember it, 34 years later. I think there are a lot of us who would very much like the chance to see it again.