Details

Release year: 1969

Storyline

Never trust a man whoever he is. This is the bitter lesson learned by Mary MacNeil in her relationships with three different men: her father, a mendacious womanizer; a smooth-talking office flirt, Cornelius; and an aging barrister, Emlyn, who is enchanted by Mary's youthful vitality and charm. Only one of these men will win her heart in the end.

Top credits

Cast

Laurence Olivier — Self - Presenter
Anna Calder-Marshall — Mary
Sean Connery — MacNeil
Michael Caine — Cornelius

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Awards

2 wins & 0 nominations

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Did you know

• For the three leading actors, it was a rare event to see them on television. Sir Sean Connery and Sir Michael Caine were established movie stars and Paul Scofield was a highly respected theatre actor.

• Screenwriter Alun Owen wrote a follow-up called "Female of the Species", which was specially written for Shirley MacLaine, Faye Dunaway, and Dame Maggie Smith, but this failed to go into production.

• This movie was originally conceived as three television plays for the British ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1969) series, to raise awareness to charities who catered for less unfortunate actors and actresses who needed long term help or health care. The common link is that they are all about the male of the species. In their U.K. form, and respective order, they were known as "MacNeil" featuring Sir Sean Connery, "Cornelius" featuring Sir Michael Caine, and "Emlyn" featuring Paul Scofield.