A Touch Of Love (aka Thank You All Very Much) (1969)

After a one night stand with a television newsman (Ian McKellen), a rather withdrawn young woman (Sandy Dennis) finds herself pregnant. After first attempting a self induced abortion, she later becomes determined to have the child and raise it alone. Based on the novel THE MILLSTONE by Margaret Drabble ( who adapted her book for the screen) and directed by Waris Hussein (POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY). This movie hearkens back a bit to those "kitchen sink" British dramas of the late 50s and early 60s, most notably in plot to the superior THE L SHAPED ROOM. But however derivative, I quite liked the film's simplicity and the earnest manner in which its near plotless scenario played out. If you can get past Dennis's weak English accent, her performance here is very good, keeping in check the mannerisms which often mar her work. The film's portrayal of the National Health is very unflattering, at least from an American perspective and the film even has a bit of suspense in whether Dennis will tell McKellen he's the father of her baby and their final scene together is beautifully played out. With Eleanor Bron as Dennis's friend and flatmate, Michael Coles, John Standing, Maurice Denham, Rachel Kempson and Margaret Tyzack.