The Fast Lady (1962)

A cyclist (Stanley Baxter) is run off the road by a car driving tycoon (James Robertson Justice). After tracking him down to give him a piece of his mind, he encounters the tycoon's car mad daughter (Julie Christie) and is immediately besotted. Based on the novel by Keble Howard and directed by Ken Annakin (SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON). Innocuous enough, one's tolerance for this sort of semi slapstick farce depends on how amusing you find bumbling car drivers. There's a bit of allure at the beginning but its one joke premise gets old hat very quickly. Similarly, Baxter's exasperated cyclist has some appeal at the start but after exhausting his catalogue of piqued expressions, he recycles them and they don't always work the second time around. In only her second film role, Julie Christie is wasted as eye candy here but she brings a budding screen presence that would bloom a year later in BILLY LIAR. The film was a big hit at the British box office and spawned a sequel of sorts with the same cast sans Christie the next year. With Leslie Phillips, Kathleen Harrison, Allan Cuthbertson and Heidi Erich.