Enormously successful writer Sir Hugo Latymer has a tryst with the past not altogether to his liking. This bittersweet comedy is the story of a cosmopolitan author caught in his declining years between two women, one being his wife of convenience for twenty years, the other, one of his former lovers.
"Sir Hugo" (Paul Schofield) is an acclaimed author who lives a comfortable life with his wife "Hilde" (June Tobin). Unexpectedly, he finds he is to receive a guest for dinner. "Carlotta" (Deborah Kerr) was an ex-girlfriend many years ago, and it is soon quite clear after her arrival that they didn't part well. Indeed, there is little more between them than a thinly veiled disregard wrapped in polite, if acerbic, dialogue. When she declares the reason for her visit, he wants nothing to do with things and hopes that will be that. She has another weapon in her arsenal though, one he cannot dismiss so readily and when his wife returns from her evening a little the worst for brandy, the triumvirate engage in some engagingly pithy vino veritas conversation that exposes all as people with secrets best kept and grudges best forgotten. There's a sharp chemistry between Schofield and Kerr that is enjoyable to watch as they dance around each other delivering rapier thrusts with varying degrees of success over a dinner of caviar and pink champagne. Director Cedric Messina uses the butler "Felix" (Bruce Lidington) as an useful fire-break for the proceedings, allowing everyone to sit back and recalibrate before the next onslaught into the integrity and ambitions of all concerned. This is a tightly cast adaptation of one of Noël Coward's better stories and one that is well worth a watch.