Alfie Elkins is a Cockneyed cad and a self-styled womanizer who cares nothing for the young women with whom he engages his nightly dalliances. When his lifestyle begins to catch up with him, in the form of poor health, a newborn son, and the arrangement of an abortion for the wife of a close friend, he starts to make strides at emotional maturity. Alfie is something of an astoundment: a sex comedy that doesn't insult its audience's intelligence and lets them use their imagination. Lewis Gilbert's treatment of Bill Naughton's scripting of his own play would surely have failed in other hands but Michael Caine, in his first starring role, makes it funny, compelling, and moving and even succeeds in breaking the fourth wall.*** 1/2 out of ****
