Alfie (1966)

Academy Awards, USA 1967

Nominee Oscar	Best Picture Lewis Gilbert
	Best Actor in a Leading Role Michael Caine
	Best Actress in a Supporting Role Vivien Merchant
	Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Bill Naughton
	Best Music, Original Song Burt Bacharach (music) Hal David (lyrics) For the song "Alfie"

Paramount
Directed by Lewis Gilbert
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Paramount)

Womanizer Michael Caine drifts through life with no commitments. A health scare lands him in a convalescent home where he makes friends with an older married man. Caine accepts a ride home with his wife and he promptly seduces her. They both forget it and Caine is soon living with pretty hitchhiker Jane Asher. He sends her packing when she can't forget about her boyfriend. The older woman turns up again, pregnant, and seeks his help in getting an illegal abortion, which is performed right there in his apartment. It deeply affects both of them. Caine, now seeking a family life, regrets his past failed relationships, but it is too late to do anything about it. He's left asking, "what's it all about, Alfie?", in the famous song by Cher. Fine film in the British "kitchen sink" tradition, though Caine's character is extremely unlikable and his frequent breaking of the fourth wall is distracting. Nice jazz soundtrack by Sonny Rollins.