The Servant (1963)

Synopsis of The Servant

Wealthy wastrel James Fox hires insouciant cockney Dirk Bogarde as a valet. No sooner has he donned his working clothes than Bogarde begins exercising a subtle but insidious control over his master. Suggesting that the house could use a little fixing up, Bogarde convinces Fox to spend a whopping amount of money on it. But this is just a warm-up session for Bogarde, who by mid-film is calling all the shots in the Fox household, all the while pretending to keep his place. Fox's fiance Wendy Craig sees through Bogarde's game. Bogarde then brings his own lady friend Sarah Miles into the house. At Bogarde's insistence, Miles seduces Fox, thereby loosening Craig's hold on the confused young man. And so it goes. The homosexual subtext of The Servant disturbed some of the more hidebound critics of 1963; Harold Pinter based his cryptic screenplay on a novel by Robin Maugham. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Theatrical Feature Running Time:

115 mins

Director(s):

Joseph Losey

Writer(s):

Harold Pinter

Producer(s):

Joseph Losey, Norman Priggen

• 1963 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Most Promising Newcomer
• 1963 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Black and White Cinematography
• 1963 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best British Actor
• 1964 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Screenplay

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