SOURCE: “Olivier among the Rhinos,” in New Statesman, Vol. 59, May 7, 1960, pp. 666-67.

In the following review, Alvarez complains that, despite an excellent production, The Caretaker is disappointing because, in it, Pinter repeats what he has “already done better in other plays.”

Harold Pinter's new play, The Caretaker (Arts) is rather disappointing. Donald McWhinnie's direction could not be better; he squeezes every last drop of meaning from the play and gains a whole extra dimension of meaning from his handling of sounds: rasping breath, terrible, screaming nightmares, ominous bumps in the dark and perfectly timed, equally appalling silences. It is not for nothing that McWhinnie has the reputation of being the BBC's most intelligent drama producer; at this rate, he will soon have the same standing on the legitimate stage. The cast of three, Donald Pleasence, Peter Woodthorpe and Alan Bates, respond to this treatment with an equal intelligence...