This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This is a 'quiet' film that holds up well. Bill Naughton had two successful films close together, Alfie, with Michael Caine, and The Family Way with John Mills playing father-in-law to his real life daughter Hayley. Though not boasting quite the ensemble cast of Alfie it does well with Marjorie Rhodes, Avril angers, Liz Fraser, Barry Foster etc and offers an almost perfectly balanced mixture of laughter and tears among the working class of Bolton. Due to a combination of circumstances newly-wed Hywel Bennett is unable to consummate his marriage to Hayley Mills, a situation that persists for some ten weeks and finally comes to a head when virtually everyone and his Uncle Max is in on the quasi scandal. With scarcely a duff performance throughout this is a fine example of Northern grit.

THE FAMILY WAY is a Boulting Brothers comedy-drama in which Hywel Bennett and Hayley Mills team up for the first of three times during their careers (the other two efforts were the horror picture TWISTED NERVE and the psycho-thriller ENDLESS NIGHT). This is a much more sedate affair about a couple of young newlyweds finding it difficult to consummate their marriage after being forced to move in with the husband's family.The thing that this film kept reminding me of was LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE. The Yorkshire setting and the broad accents, not to mention the costumes and look of the film, and the presence of Kathy Staff as the nosy neighbour, make the similarities difficult to ignore. And like LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE, this is largely a character-focused comedy in which various conflicts between personalities come to the fore and play out throughout the running time.I found John Mills a little incongruous cast as a Yorkshireman although he gives the usual professional performance. Bennett has the meatiest role as the conflicted youngster while Mills just has to act lovely, which she does very well, although she does show a bit more mettle towards the end. THE FAMILY WAY is no classic but fans of the actors and era should enjoy it regardless.

Young British working-class newlyweds are having trouble consummating their marriage whilst living with the in-laws, and it gets even worse when neighbors start speculating about the groom's "performance". A realistic play on a modern-day situation that is still timeless. The elders in this film are especially amazing, their roles full of dimension, though everyone here excels with the solid, no-frills screenplay. This is one of Hayley Mills' best movies, as she exhibits a strong, self-assured presence and lends nuances to every scene (she's captivating). Paul McCartney contributed the background score, and his main theme is lovely. A fine film. *** from ****

A late entry to the British kitchen sink cycle, which suggests that if there was one thing that the upstanding, chapel going, gossipping classes disapproved of more than sex before marriage, then it was failing to fulfill one's conjugal duties afterwards. Which is unfortunate for a willing, but unable, Hywell Bennett and his virginal bride, portrayed by a divine Hayley Mills. Bennett is good, and Mills is suitably wide eyed and adorable, which in fairness is all the script really asks of her, but the film belongs to the senior cast members. John Mills, ironically portraying his real life daughter's father-in-law, succeeds in being comical and pathetic yet immensely noble, and Marjorie Rhodes is equally compelling as his wife, who loves, yet at times, quietly loathes him. The Family Way is a touching and amusing look at the social mores of Northern England circa the mid-sixties, and a chance to see Hayley Mills' bare bottom!