Quest for Love *** (1971, Joan Collins, Tom Bell, Denholm Elliott) – Classic Movie Review 9648

Director Ralph Thomas’s 1971 Quest for Love tells a fascinating sci-fi yarn based on John (The Midwich Cuckoos) Wyndham’s 1954 short story Random Quest, with a screenplay by Terence Feely.

Tom Bell stars as Colin Trafford, a physicist who discovers, following a blast when a particle accelerator demonstration goes wrong, that he is in the past in a different dimension, not dissimilar from his own, except that here he is a hated playwright in love with his dying wife Ottilie (Joan Collins). Propelled back to the real world of the present by the shock of her death, he sets about discovering her and trying to save her life before she dies again.

Quest for Love is a quirky blend of sci-fi fantasy and love story that should please fans of both, with impressive performances all round, but especially from a finely tuned Bell. Thomas, atoning for the sex comedy Percy which he made the same year, directs with an unexpected sensitivity and clarity. It comes from Peter Rogers Productions, some (though not me) would say atoning for the Carry On movies.

Also in the cast are Denholm Elliott, Laurence Naismith, Lyn Ashley, Juliet Harmer , Neil McCallum, Simon Ward, Jeremy Child, Ray McAnally, Trudy Van Doom, John Hallam, Geraldine Moffat, David Weston, Drew Henley, Edward Cast, Dudley Foster, Angus McKay, Bernard Horsfall, Philip Stone, Sam Kydd, Johnny Briggs, Harold Goodwin, Basil Henson, Ian Selby, Andrew Sachs, Joan Benham, Fred Wood, Ellis Dale, Peter Davies, and Guy Standeven.

It was shot at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England.

It was remade as the TV movie Random Quest (2006), with Samuel West, Kate Ashfield, and David Burke.

John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos was filmed as Village of the Damned (1961) and its sequel Children of the Damned (1964). Village of the Damned was remade in 1995 with Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley, and Linda Kozlowski.

John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was born in 1903 and died on 11 March 1969. His novel The Day of the Triffids has been adapted to film once as The Day of the Triffids (1963) and twice as a miniseries (1981) and (2009).

Quest for Love is directed by Ralph Thomas, runs 90 minutes, is made by Peter Rogers Productions, is distributed by Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1971) (UK), is written by Terence Feely, based on the short story Random Quest by John Wyndham, is shot by Ernest Steward (Eastmancolor), is produced by Peter Rogers (executive producer) and Peter Eton, is scored by Eric Rogers and is designed by Robert Jones.

Joan Collins said she is proudest of her performances in TV’s Dynasty, Decadence (1994) and Quest for Love.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9648

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