Not to be confused with Any Number Can Play

A movie that I had on my old DVR but never got around to watching was the British film Only Two Can Play. I noticed that it was on Tubi, so I decided to watch it, although I have to say that it no longer seems to be on Tubi.

Peter Sellers plays John Lewis, working as a librarian in what seems to be one of those small working-class towns that dotted British movies of the period, this time in Wales. It's not much of a job, but somehow he's able to support a wife Jean (Virginia Maskell) and a kid. For some values of support, since they don't get to go out much. John has dreams of being a writer, writing some reviews for the local paper.

And then Liz Grufydd-Williams (Mai Zetterling) walks into his life. She's much more glamorous than Jean, and is married to someone with higher status, one of the local town councillors, who has some say over the library's budget and staffing. John is somewhat interested in Liz, even though he shouldn't be, and the feeling is mutual, even though they have to see each other in secret to keep from being spotted, which is the basis for quite a bit of the movie's humor.

A promotion opens up at the library, and both of the women in John's life want him to apply for the job. In Jean's case, one can assume that it means a position with both a better income and more status. For Liz, however, it's because she can use the possibility of John's getting this position to exert greater control over their relationship. If John goes for it, that may make him a kept man, which is going to cause problems for him back at home.

Meanwhile, Liz is also involved with the local amateur repertory company, putting on plays as was the sort of thing in the post-World War II era when people didn't have as many interests vying for their time as they do today. Perhaps John could be persuaded to write a better review of the play that their company is going to put on. And he doesn't even have to go see the play as Liz could help him with a synopsis and make everybody look good if need be. They could have one of their assignations while everybody else is at opening night. Unbeknownst to them, one of the cast causes a fire on opening night, forcing the cancellation of the rest of the play. Anybody who was there would know about it and there would be no need for a review....

Only Two Can Play is a rather gentler comedy than the Sellers movies that would follow, as I've always stated my view that there was a big change for Sellers starting with Dr. Stranglove, when he goes way over the top and basically nobody keeps him in check any longer. This isn't as good as some of Sellers' other early movies, particularly Two-Way Stretch and even more so I'm Alright Jack, in part because it is a bit slow. It's around 105 minutes and should have come in around 90. But if it ever shows up anywhere, it's definitely worth one watch.