Twice Around the Daffodils

Produced, written and directed by the team behind the Carry On series and set in a tuberculosis ward, Twice Around the Daffodils (1962) presents an awkward mix of saucy laughs and chronic illness, The Magic Mountain as available on the NHS. A group of men from widely different backgrounds find themselves confined to their beds for a protracted period and must learn to cope with both their debilitating condition and their irritating neighbours. Initially, the film is plodding as it makes some stabs at serious drama, but it hits a more sprightly note as illness is forgotten and the patients turn their gazes on the nurses who look after them. The main reason to watch the film, however, is the roster of 1960s minor stars: Kenneth Williams in very restrained mood as a chess-loving encyclopedia salesman; Lance Percival's squint teeth and even squinter nose; a heartstoppingly beautiful Nanette Newman; Donald Sinden as a cut-price Terry Thomas, growling like a constipated labrador to express his lust. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]