The Love Ban is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Hywel Bennett, Nanette Newman and Milo O'Shea. It was based on a play by Kevin Laffan. It is also known under the alternative titles of It's a 2'6" Above the Ground World and Anyone for Sex?
Plot
A married couple with six children experience marital difficulties. Wife Kate refuses to sleep with husband Mick until he uses birth control, while their live-in au-pair falls pregnant.
Cast
Hywel Bennett as Mick Goonahan
Nanette Newman as Kate Goonahan
Milo O'Shea as Father Andrew
Angharad Rees as Jackie
Nicky Henson as Baker
Georgina Hale as Joyce
Madeline Smith as Miss Partridge
Peter Barkworth as Bra Factory Director
John Cleese as Contraceptives Lecturer
Marianne Stone as Customer In Chemists
Nina Baden-Semper as Skyline Waitress
Cheryl Hall as Pregnant Woman
Jacki Piper as Pregnant Woman
David Howey as Barber
Tommy Godfrey as Barber
James Leith as Policeman
Tony Haygarth as Policeman
Production
The film was based on a 1969 play by Kevin Laffan, It's a 2'6" Above the Ground World. Laffan was one of 14 children from a devout Roman Catholic family and his critical view on the Church's stance on birth control was a recurring theme of his work. The play starred Prunella Scales in a production at the Bristol Old Vic, and was a hit, moving to the Wyndham's Theatre.
Filming
It was shot at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director Anthony Pratt.