it was said recently that Look Back In Anger changed film drama forever, certainly in Britain. this was a new kind of film with gritty realism. the film starred Richard Burton, Mary Ure and Claire Bloom. Burton was a frustrated barrow boy who beat his wife Ure and bedded Bloom after his marriage split up. yet while he treated Bloom well it was Ure he really loved and wanted to get back together. i find myself comparing the film to Where Eagles Dare, because if anything Burton as a war-time secret agent was even more violent. however, this time Ure, also an agent and lover is very much his equal.
A Taste Of Honey starred Dora Bryan and Rita Tushingham as a mother and daughter. a daring film for the late 50s which sees the young woman pregnant by a black man
Saturday Night Sunday Morning with Albert Finney in his big movie break. he plays a working class bloke with married Rachel Roberts, even though he's pals with her husband Bryan Pingle. the film also stars Shirley Anne Field
Room At The Top with Laurence Harvey as Joe Lampton, a young man determined to get to the top of the buisness world
The Entertainer with Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright. it's worth a view to see what Larry saw in the plainly attractive Joan when he was still married to one of the most beautiful women in the world Vivien Leigh. though to be fair Viv by this stage was very difficult to live with and Larry probably thought enough was enough
This Sporting Life with Richard Harris and Rachel Roberts in film about a rising Rugby player and his affair with widowed landlady Rachel Roberts. the film turned Harris from a character actor into a major star. it's a pity it didn't do the same for Rachel Roberts, who was outstanding
A Kind Of Loving with Alan Bates, about a factory worker who has to marry his girlfriend after getting her pregnant. the films highlight is when Dame Thora Hird calls a Alan A Filthy Beast. i prefer the tv series that was made 20-yrs later with Clive Wood. it tells the story better and tells what happened to the main characters long after the film is finished
Alfie, a daring film about the love life of Michael Caine's Alfie and his conquests. the harrowing abortion scene possibly in part inspired the goverment to legalise termination in 1967 inorder to prevent those back street operations
Darling with Julie Christie as an aspiring model with Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey
Man At The Top, a sequal to RATT with international star Jean Simmons joining Laurence Harvey as his wife
Georgie Girl with Lynn Redgrave, Alan Bates, Charlotte Rampling and James Mason. it has an outstanding theme song sung by Judith Duram and The Seekers
British Kitchen Sink Dramas
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jdb1
Stuart, the movies you mention, which appeared in the late 50s and early 60s, were popular here, and changed America's perception of not only British movies, but of Britain. Previously, what we got mostly were upper class comedies and romances, where everyone dressed for dinner and said "Frightfully" and "Darling" a lot. Most depictions of working class Britons came from American war movies, and in such films the Brits were often presented as affectionately comic figures.
I think that the Kitchen Sink dramas made this country more aware of regional Britain, and certainly helped pave the way for the immense popularity of British Rock groups.
I was a young teen during the time you describe. I saw all of these movies, but didn't really "get" them until much later. I was bowled over by Michael Caine in Alfie. (Did I ever mention how I literally bumped into him on Madison Ave. one day? He was about five times more handsome in person.) However, I think the movies that made the biggest impression on me at the time were A Taste of Honey and A Kind of Loving, and the grandest adolescent with angst movie of all - Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.
I think that the Kitchen Sink dramas made this country more aware of regional Britain, and certainly helped pave the way for the immense popularity of British Rock groups.
I was a young teen during the time you describe. I saw all of these movies, but didn't really "get" them until much later. I was bowled over by Michael Caine in Alfie. (Did I ever mention how I literally bumped into him on Madison Ave. one day? He was about five times more handsome in person.) However, I think the movies that made the biggest impression on me at the time were A Taste of Honey and A Kind of Loving, and the grandest adolescent with angst movie of all - Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.
it's funny that Dora Bryan never became an international star after A Taste Of Honey. she remains a popular actress in the UK last seen in sit com The Last Of The Summer Wine. Rita Tushingham was a big star for a appearing in another kitchen sink drama The Knack with Ray Brooks and Michael Crawford, but is rarely seen now.
in Alfie you had American actress Shelly Winters, but there were some great names among the Brit girls there to, not to mention Cilla Black who sang the title track on the UK version. Millicent Martin was part of David Frosts ground breaking satire show That Was The Week That Was. Julia Foster appeared with Tommy Steele in Half A Sixpence. she was last seen with Michael Winner in a comercial for car insurance and is the mother of tv presenter Ben Fogle, who rowed the Atlantic with Olympic gold medalist James Cracknell recently. however, the Alfie girl still going strong is Jane Asher. she's now starring as The Queen Mother in The Palace, a tv show about a fictional British Royal family
in Alfie you had American actress Shelly Winters, but there were some great names among the Brit girls there to, not to mention Cilla Black who sang the title track on the UK version. Millicent Martin was part of David Frosts ground breaking satire show That Was The Week That Was. Julia Foster appeared with Tommy Steele in Half A Sixpence. she was last seen with Michael Winner in a comercial for car insurance and is the mother of tv presenter Ben Fogle, who rowed the Atlantic with Olympic gold medalist James Cracknell recently. however, the Alfie girl still going strong is Jane Asher. she's now starring as The Queen Mother in The Palace, a tv show about a fictional British Royal family
Last edited by stuart.uk on January 24th, 2008, 5:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Two Dirk Bogarde films that i wouldn't class as Kitchen Sinks, but some might are Victim and Sebastian
Victim deals with the taboo subject of homosexuality six yrs before it was legalised. Bogarde plays a married, but homosexually inclined Barrister. a young man he was attracted to is murdered and he discovers a ruthless blackmailer is putting the squeeze on the London gay community. he dicides to risk his career and marriage to Sylvia Syms in order to bring the thug to justice
in Sebastian Bogarde plays a conservative civil servant in charge of 100 girl code breakers. he falls in love with one of his employees, a mini-skirted 60s chick in the form of Susannah York, who is a joy to watch in this film. also in the film is Lilli Palmer
one of the supporting actors in The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, James Bollam is a big tv star in the UK. he may even be better known than Tom Courtney
Victim deals with the taboo subject of homosexuality six yrs before it was legalised. Bogarde plays a married, but homosexually inclined Barrister. a young man he was attracted to is murdered and he discovers a ruthless blackmailer is putting the squeeze on the London gay community. he dicides to risk his career and marriage to Sylvia Syms in order to bring the thug to justice
in Sebastian Bogarde plays a conservative civil servant in charge of 100 girl code breakers. he falls in love with one of his employees, a mini-skirted 60s chick in the form of Susannah York, who is a joy to watch in this film. also in the film is Lilli Palmer
one of the supporting actors in The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, James Bollam is a big tv star in the UK. he may even be better known than Tom Courtney
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jdb1
I believe Millicent Martin is married to an American -- she has been a minor, but continuous presence on American TV for years.
I remember seeing her British TV show at some point in the past on US TV. I remember her singing and dancing, wearing black net stockings and something very short. I remember her telling a joke, sitting on a stool, and doing skits. I don't think this was on That Was the Week That Was -- this was definitely her own show. In the days before public TV, many English TV shows were broadcast here at odd hours as filler.
I looked her up, and although I am sure I saw her also in at least one sitcom in the 60s or early 70s, I don't see it mentioned. She and the woman who played Bob Newhart's sister on the first Newhart show were flight attendants. It apparently didn't last very long. Does anyone know the one I mean?
I remember seeing her British TV show at some point in the past on US TV. I remember her singing and dancing, wearing black net stockings and something very short. I remember her telling a joke, sitting on a stool, and doing skits. I don't think this was on That Was the Week That Was -- this was definitely her own show. In the days before public TV, many English TV shows were broadcast here at odd hours as filler.
I looked her up, and although I am sure I saw her also in at least one sitcom in the 60s or early 70s, I don't see it mentioned. She and the woman who played Bob Newhart's sister on the first Newhart show were flight attendants. It apparently didn't last very long. Does anyone know the one I mean?
Dionne Warwick had a hit in America with Anyone Who Had A Heart, but had her nose cut when Cilla Black had a no1 hit of the song in the UK
it seems John we're both right. look what i found on the details about the film on the net
"Alfie"
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Performed by Cilla Black
(U.K. re-release)
"Alfie"
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Performed by Cher
(U.S. version)
it seems John we're both right. look what i found on the details about the film on the net
"Alfie"
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Performed by Cilla Black
(U.K. re-release)
"Alfie"
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Performed by Cher
(U.S. version)
Hi Stu, glad to see you on SSO.
I missed Millicent Martin in the TW3 series. I did see her in 'Stop the World, I want to Get Off'. which I don't remember too well. Was she a gorgeous redhead? I saw her in a PBS program which I recall even less ( long time ago ), it was a musical pgm. Can you tell me anything about it, I have only a vague memory.
Will someone tell me, please, what is a 'kitchen sink' drama? Sounds domestic. ..... mel
I missed Millicent Martin in the TW3 series. I did see her in 'Stop the World, I want to Get Off'. which I don't remember too well. Was she a gorgeous redhead? I saw her in a PBS program which I recall even less ( long time ago ), it was a musical pgm. Can you tell me anything about it, I have only a vague memory.
Will someone tell me, please, what is a 'kitchen sink' drama? Sounds domestic. ..... mel
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jdb1
Mel, Millicent Martin does (or did) have red hair. Have you seen her as Daphne's mother on Frasier?melwalton wrote:Hi Stu, glad to see you on SSO.
I missed Millicent Martin in the TW3 series. I did see her in 'Stop the World, I want to Get Off'. which I don't remember too well. Was she a gorgeous redhead? I saw her in a PBS program which I recall even less ( long time ago ), it was a musical pgm. Can you tell me anything about it, I have only a vague memory.
Will someone tell me, please, what is a 'kitchen sink' drama? Sounds domestic. ..... mel
A "kitchen sink" drama is one that deals with the more mundane, and sometimes sordid, aspects of daily life, especially among the working class. The term comes from an art movement in the early 1950s that depicted common household items, like sinks and toilets, and was soon applied to the contemporaneous trend in British drama, which before that had been a bit more "refined." I think most, if not all, kitchen sink movies were shot in black and white, to emphasize the grittiness of the subject matter. The amoral anti-hero, and unhappy ending were also features of this genre.
nillicent martin
Thanks, Judith. I appreciate it. Don't recall hearing the term before.
I saw Martin in a PBS program a while back Musical, don't recall much about it. Red head. If I have the right one, I'd use the word 'voluptuous'.
Saw her, too, in one version of 'Stop the World'. Don't recall which one. Might have been the one with Tony Tanner. I didn't see the sitcom. Stopped watching them because the laugh machine bothered me. I used to watch sitcoms when I was younger and less cantankerous. long ago. Thanks, again, Judith ..... mel
I saw Martin in a PBS program a while back Musical, don't recall much about it. Red head. If I have the right one, I'd use the word 'voluptuous'.
Saw her, too, in one version of 'Stop the World'. Don't recall which one. Might have been the one with Tony Tanner. I didn't see the sitcom. Stopped watching them because the laugh machine bothered me. I used to watch sitcoms when I was younger and less cantankerous. long ago. Thanks, again, Judith ..... mel
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
I'm going to shock you here by saying i prefered the tv series with Clive Wood, Joanna Whalley and Susan Penhaligon.
the reason being i didn't realise that the movie only covers part of the story where Bates' Vic and the actress who played Ingrid are reconciled. in the series we see Wood's Vic and Whalley's Ingrid seperate and yrs later he falls in love with actress Penhaligon a girl he had more in common with
also in the series, which was never mentioned in the film, was how lacking in common Vic and Ingrid were. he liked classic movies, she Tommy Steele's latest single for example
the reason being i didn't realise that the movie only covers part of the story where Bates' Vic and the actress who played Ingrid are reconciled. in the series we see Wood's Vic and Whalley's Ingrid seperate and yrs later he falls in love with actress Penhaligon a girl he had more in common with
also in the series, which was never mentioned in the film, was how lacking in common Vic and Ingrid were. he liked classic movies, she Tommy Steele's latest single for example
Last edited by stuart.uk on February 1st, 2008, 6:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.