Shirley Valentine (film) to retain the best of Willy Russell's theatrical devices . . . while opening out the action to embrace a big-screen atmosphere. The supporting cast, particularly Bernard Hill as Collins's Neanderthal husband, is equally convincing, with only the hammy Conti (glistening teeth and appalling accent) striking a momentary false note." Among reviewers who found the film banal and hollow, Caryn James of "The New York Times" observed, "By adding all the characters and settings that Shirley only talks about on stage, the film reveals the weakness of Mr. Russell's script as surely as if a magician's clumsy assistant had pointed
Willy Haas Willy Haas Willy Haas (6 July 1891 – 4 September 1973) was a German editor, film critic, and screenwriter. He wrote for 19 films between 1922 and 1933. He was a member of the jury at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival. Willy Haas was the son of a Jewish lawyer. He studied law himself, and at a young age joined a literary circle with his friends Franz Werfel, Paul Kornfeld and Johannes Urzidil. He had personal contacts with Franz Kafka and Max Brod. This circle, which met in Prague at the , also included Ernst Polak, the husband of