Now, these merry medicos are hilariously back in harness once again.
Dr. Sparrow: Now, big breaths, Eva.
Eva: Yeth, and I'm only thixteen.
— Dr. Simon Sparrow trying to check on Eva's breathing.
Doctor at Large is a 1957 film and the third of the Doctor... Series. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, Shirley Eaton, Derek Farr, and Michael Medwin.
Once more at St. Swithin's (with no mention of the events of the previous film), Dr. Simon Sparrow (Bogarde) insults Sir Charles Hopcroft (Ernest Jay), one of the St. Swithin's governors. As this happens, his old friends Tony Benskin (Sinden) and Joy Gibson (Pavlow) both fail their medical exams, leaving all three rather glum.
Feeling he needs a change after losing the job of Senior House Surgeon to Dr. Charlie Bingham (Medwin) after his prior incident with Sir Charles and a disastrous night with Nurse Nan McPherson (Eaton) at the Judges Arms boarding house - run by Mrs. Digby (Judith Furse), an old battleaxe - Dr. Sparrow takes a job at a general practice under Dr. Hatchet (Lionel Jeffries), although he is forced to deal with the flirty behaviour of Jasmine (Dilys Laye), Dr. Hatchet's wife.
As this happens, Tony travels to Ireland and buys a medical degree, leading to a post in Wiltshire as Lady Howkins' (Athene Seyler) private physician, while he manages to land Dr. Sparrow a job at the Harley Street practice of Dr. Erasmus Potter-Shine (Farr), where the patients are all either dotty aristocrats like the Duke of Skye and Lewes (A. E. Matthews) or neurotic society women like Kitty (Barbara Murray).
After some time working with Dr. Farquarson (George Relph) in the country, Dr. Sparrow joins Dr. Benskin and Joy for a brief holiday in France after the passing of Lady Howkins, where they save Sir Charles from an embarrassing incident.
Dr. Sparrow once more returns to St. Swithin's, while Dr. Benskin gets a job as personal physician to the Maharajah of Branda (Martin Benson). It turns out Dr. Sparrow's return has come just at the right time, as he is able to witness Dr. Bingham humiliate himself owing to the delivery of several elephants to the hospital (with a little help from Joy) and after chewing out Sir Lancelot Spratt (Justice), finally becoming a surgeon.
Tropes at Large:
- Affectionate Nickname: Emerald calls Dr. Potter-Shine "Razzy", short for his first name "Erasmus".
- Agony of the Feet: Sir Lancelot complains that he has a touch of the gout when Tony comes into his office.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Kitty blames her tantrum over not being able to see Dr. Potter-Shine on the brandy she had at lunch.
- All There in the Script: Several characters' names aren't given in the film:
- The Apron Matron of an innkeeper at the Judges Arms is called "Mrs. Digby".
- The Irishman who Tony sees for his medical exam is called "O'Malley", and his char is called "Una".
- The Duke who rides the exercise horse is the Duke of "Skye and Lewes".
- The woman who Dr. Sparrow spanks and goes out with is called "Kitty".
- The girl making hay is called "Alice".
- The fish poacher is called "Sam", and the Colonel he poaches from has the surname "Graves".
- Mervyn Johns' character is called "Mr. Smith".
- Donald Pickering's character is called "Cyril".
- Amicable Exes: Dr. Sparrow and Joy are no longer together but remain close friends as he tries to help her pass her medical exams.
- Annoying Patient: Mrs. Wilkins, who demands wind medicine that she doesn't need and gets her husband to threaten Dr. Sparrow with legal action:Mrs. Wilkins: I want me medicine!
- Apron Matron: Mrs. Digby, the prudish, constantly sniffing innkeeper of the Judges Arms.
- Big Friendly Dog: One keeps interrupting barking at the window, hoping that Dr. Sparrow, Tony, or Joy will feed it.
- Blind Without 'Em: Sir Charles is, which causes problems when he leaves his glasses to go for a swim, causing him to enter the wrong changing room and get screamed at by some French women.
- Brick Joke: For Dr. Bingham and Nurse McPherson's honeymoon, Dr. Sparrow recommends the Judges Arms - the place where he and Nurse McPherson spent a horrible night at the beginning of the film.
- Brownface: The Maharajah of Branda is played by Martin Benson, a British actor covered in makeup.
- Bungled Hypnotism: Tony is unable to hypnotise Joy, although he does succeed in making her and Dr. Sparrow think he has hypnotised himself.
- The Bus Came Back: Tony, Joy, Sir Lancelot, and the Padre all return from Doctor in the House (1954) after missing Doctor at Sea.
- Busman's Holiday: Dr. Sparrow accidentally reveals his profession to a waiter during his stay at the Judges Arms, leading the waiter and the eavesdropping Major Porter to try and get him to examine them.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Eva has large breaths, sorry breasts, for a thixteen-year-old.
- Comedic Spanking: Dr. Sparrow spanks Kitty during her tantrum:Kitty: You struck a woman!
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Dr. Hatchet hints that he will murder Dr. Sparrow if he tries anything with Jasmine.
- Creator Cameo: The author of the original novels, Richard Gordon, once again appears as Stubbins, an anaesthetist.
- Fee Fi Faux Pas: During his medical finals, Tony manages to accidentally insult one of his examiners' age:Tony: After all, the patient was senile. Dash it, he was seventy - practically ga-ga.Examiner: And I shall be seventy-six myself next birthday. Thank you for reminding me that I'm well past my job.
- The Film of the Book: The film is based on Richard Gordon's 1955 novel of the same name.
- First Girl Wins: Joy was Dr. Sparrow's love interest back in Doctor in the House (1954), and after falling for Helene, Nurse McPherson and Kitty, finally takes her back at the end of the film when he asks to marry her.
- Gasshole: Mrs. Wilkins is, or at least was before taking her red medicine for almost fifteen years.
- Get Out!: Sir Lancelot roars at Dr. Sparrow and orders him to leave his office:Sir Lancelot: I do not growl like a bear, I roar like a lion! Get out!
- The Ghost:
- Drs. Christmas, O'Higgins, O'Rourke, O'Toole, Solomons, Assiz, and Wu, the assistant doctors who worked with Dr. Hatchet before Dr. Sparrow did.
- Joanna, a patient of Dr. Potter-Shine's who he plays golf with.
- Willoughby, Dr. Potter-Shine's assistant before Dr. Sparrow.
- Gratuitous French: Sir Charles struggles to use some French words on holiday:Sir Charles: Oh, pardon, madame, er mad-mademoiselle.
- Hospital Hottie: The lovely Nurse Nan McPherson, who catches the eye of both Dr. Sparrow and Dr. Bingham.
- Implied Death Threat: Dr. Hatchet gives a long speech about doctors who have murdered and gotten away with murder to Dr. Sparrow, in an attempt to keep him away from his wife, Jasmine.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: When Dr. Bingham kisses her, Nurse McPherson winces and knocks back the rest of her drink.
- Incoming Ham: Sir Lancelot makes his first appearance in the film blaring his car horn and yelling at a dustman:Sir Lancelot: Get your wretched garbage van out of the way, man!
- Inconsistent Spelling: Is the surname of Shirley Eaton's character "Macpherson" or "McPherson"? The DVD subtitles use the former, but the script uses the latter.
- Laughing Mad: Pascoe cackles like a madman after quoting Macbeth to Sir Lancelot.
- "L" Is for "Dyslexia": A sign at the Ives' farm warns about a "feerce" dog.
- Mistaken Identity: When Dr. Sparrow first meets Jasmine, he wrongly assumes that she is Dr. Hatchet when he is actually her husband.
- Mondegreen Gag: The lisping Eva mistakes "breaths" for "breasts".
- Naked People Are Funny: Dr. Benskin walks in on the Maharajah of Branda sitting on a couch stark naked beside his turban, much to his embarrassment.
- No Full Name Given:
- We don't get to know Emerald, Ernest, Eva, George, or Seamus' last names.
- The same can be said for Dr. Hatchet, Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins, Dr. Farquarson, Lady Howkins, Pascoe, Mrs. Dalton, Mr. Waylands, Old Ives, Mrs. Ives, Major Porter, Mrs. Law, and Muffin's first names.
- Nose Nuggets: The dustman picks his nose during his conversation with Sir Lancelot.
- Not What It Looks Like: Dr. Hatchet catches Dr. Sparrow and Jasmine fighting over a box of sleeping pills and believes they are embracing behind his back.
- One-Steve Limit: The film has three characters named "Charlie/Charles" - Dr. Charlie Bingham, Sir Charles Hopcroft, and Charlie Whittle.
- Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Joy wears glasses to her medical final, only so she will appear smarter.
- Putting the "Medic" in Comedic: The film arises much of its comedy from doctors dealing with difficult patients, such as Mrs. Wilkins trying to hit Dr. Sparrow with a ceramic jug or Kitty having to be spanked to stop her tantrum.
- Rank Up:
- After buying a medical degree, Tony finally becomes a doctor.
- Dr. Sparrow finally becomes a surgeon at the end of the film.
- Relatively Flimsy Excuse: Dr. Sparrow claims that he and Nurse McPherson are cousins when staying at the Judges Arms.
- Retcon: The film carries on from where Doctor in the House (1954) left off with no mention of the events of Doctor at Sea.
- Right in Front of Me: Dr. Sparrow chews out Sir Charles Hopcroft in front of everyone in the outpatients department believing that he was trying to jump the queue, not realising that he is one of St. Swithin's governors. As a result, he loses the Senior House Surgeon role he was hoping for to Dr. Bingham.
- The Rival: Dr. Bingham is to Dr. Sparrow, with the two competing over the job of Senior House Surgeon.
- Sequel Non-Entity: Helene has disappeared after falling in love with Dr. Sparrow in the previous film.
- Shirtless Scene:
- Dr. Benskin and the Maharajah both have one when Dr. Sparrow returns from his date with Kitty and catches them doing yoga.
- Several extras on the French beach are shirtless.
- Shot in the Ass: Sam needs Dr. Sparrow to help him with treatment for this issue. He lies that his dog set off his shotgun when he was actually shot while poaching fish.Sam: Sit down, won't you?Dr. Sparrow: How about you?Sam: I like standin' up, if you don't mind.Dr. Sparrow: Well, what can I do for you?Sam: The fact is, Doctor, I had a little accident with my gun.Dr. Sparrow: Oh, I see. You, er, got some shot in you, have you?Sam: That's it.Dr. Sparrow: Ha-ha, where?Sam: Oh... where it makes me prefer standin' up.Dr. Sparrow: Oh, I see. How on earth did you manage to shoot yourself there?
- Shout-Out:
- Sir Lancelot discusses the Boy Scouts with Tony.
- The Judges Arms reminds Nurse McPherson of the Mary Celeste.
- When discussing doctors who have sinned, Dr. Hatchet brings up Thomas Neill Cream, Palmer the Poisoner and Dr. Crippen.
- Shout-Out to Shakespeare: Pascoe frequently quotes William Shakespeare's plays, such as Macbeth.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: After yet another humiliation and ensuing chewing out from Sir Lancelot, Dr. Sparrow can't take it anymore and calls him out:Sir Lancelot: I understand you're interested in surgery. What makes you think your gifts lie in that direction? Some people might consider that a nuts and bolts factory would be a more suitable habitat for you, than an operating theatre. Or have you what is called a "vocation"?Dr. Sparrow: Yes, I have. I have a "vocation", if that's what you choose to call it, and one of these days, I'm going to prove it, though I shan't have a title, a ruddy great Rolls, and a conceit as big as me backside to advertise it!Sir Lancelot: Young man, you're being remarkably insulting.Dr. Sparrow: And I'm thoroughly enjoying it. And this time, I don't apologise. And if you don't mind me saying so, I should've thought it might have been rather an interesting clinical experience for you to be on the receiving end for once. Good morning.
- Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Derek Farr is nowhere to be found in the film's trailer.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Joy wears fake glasses to her medical final, to try and make the examiners look past the fact that she is a woman and see how qualified she truly is.
- Smithical Marriage: Dr. Sparrow gives his last name as "Phillimore" when staying at the Judges Arms with Nurse McPherson. The only problem is he still signs his own surname in the book, leading Mrs. Digby to give them two separate rooms.
- Spoonerism: Joy calls a circus asking to send all they've got on elephants to St. Swithin's but gets sent all the elephants they've got (although it's implied that Joy had the mistake made intentionally to undermine Dr. Bingham):Dr. Bingham: Oh, no! I told them to send all they'd got on elephants, not all the elephants they'd got!
- Something We Forgot: When Dr. Sparrow is about to see to the Maharajah of Branda, he is interrupted by Kitty, who is in a tizzy looking for Dr. Potter-Shine. Dr. Sparrow ends up taking her on a date and forgets about the Maharajah until she says the word "oriental".
- Tagline: "All the BARE FACTS and FIGURES that add up to a young medic's love life!".
- The Teetotaler: Dr. Bingham normally never drinks, but he makes an exception to celebrate his engagement to Nurse McPherson.
- Troll: During his attempt to hypnotize Joy, Tony briefly makes her and Dr. Sparrow believe he has put himself into a trance.
- [Verb] This!: Said by Mrs. Wilkins, before she attempts to throw a jug at Dr. Sparrow:Mrs. Wilkins: Call yourself a doctor? Well, doctor this!
