Claude Whatham

With Anton Rodgers, Lucy Gutteridge, Julian Holloway, Rosalind Ayres.

When Sophie, the manicurist, learns that her best friend Muriel is to be married to the notorious and middle-aged Lord Quex, she determines to prevent it by exposing him for the despicable roué he is. But her plans go badly wrong. Pinero’s bitter-sweet comedy, first performed in 1898, scandalised the playgoers of the day with its unblushing portrayal of marital and sexual mores.

Adapted from the play by the British writer Arthur Wing Pinero.Read More »

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An intriguing hybrid, this yarn about a young, John Lennon-like West Country lad (David Essex) who abandons his A-levels (‘I’ve had enough of sodding school!’) and heads off to find his fortune in ashabby, seaside town is made in the same downbeat, naturalistic way as the so-called kitchen sink films of a decade before, but boasts a very upbeat rock’n’roll soundtrack.

Director Whatham (better known for his TV work than for anything he did on the big screen) elicits suprisingly strong performances from Essex and from Ringo Starr as his teddy boy guru. Look out, too, for Billy Fury as the aptly named rocker, Stormy Tempest. The film marked an important staging post in the career of its relentlessly ambitious producer, David Puttnam, and spawned an excellent sequel, Stardust.
Time OutRead More »