A family film starring BILL TRAVERS and VIRGINIA McKENNA (the "Born Free" couple), in which most of the action takes place in a ramshackle Scottish cottage on a hillside overlooking the sea.
The story of a man who takes an otter for a pet while he works on his novel in the countryside, is beautifully filmed and all of the rapport between the otter and the stars of the film is extremely well captured. The Technicolor photography is beautiful, especially for the scenes of a shimmering sea under the sun or the moon.
But it would take someone with enormous patience, not to mention naivety, to think he could buy an otter in a pet shop and take him to live in his London apartment. And when the pet makes a shambles of his city surroundings, the owner is forced to look elsewhere for lodgings. The rest of the tale deals with his locating a rustic cottage by the sea and his interaction with a lady animal doctor who soon forms a warm friendship with him.
Children more than adults will appreciate the antics of the lively otter whose curiosity knows no bounds, especially when he gets loose aboard a train and creates havoc. But the story is slow and plodding, moving at a snail's pace through a series of uneven scenes without any dramatic highlights to heighten any tension as to the final outcome.
Travers and McKenna, real-life husband and wife, are excellent in the leads but the script tends to be on the weak side with content not compelling enough for most adults but of special interest to nature lovers.
The story of a man who takes an otter for a pet while he works on his novel in the countryside, is beautifully filmed and all of the rapport between the otter and the stars of the film is extremely well captured. The Technicolor photography is beautiful, especially for the scenes of a shimmering sea under the sun or the moon.
But it would take someone with enormous patience, not to mention naivety, to think he could buy an otter in a pet shop and take him to live in his London apartment. And when the pet makes a shambles of his city surroundings, the owner is forced to look elsewhere for lodgings. The rest of the tale deals with his locating a rustic cottage by the sea and his interaction with a lady animal doctor who soon forms a warm friendship with him.
Children more than adults will appreciate the antics of the lively otter whose curiosity knows no bounds, especially when he gets loose aboard a train and creates havoc. But the story is slow and plodding, moving at a snail's pace through a series of uneven scenes without any dramatic highlights to heighten any tension as to the final outcome.
Travers and McKenna, real-life husband and wife, are excellent in the leads but the script tends to be on the weak side with content not compelling enough for most adults but of special interest to nature lovers.