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British Sixties Films S-Z
Saturday
Night & Sunday
Morning ( 1960 )
A factory worker has a love affair with a married
woman, but eventually opts for convention.
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A milestone and a masterpiece. Raw, sharp, witty,
trend-setting. With an attractive central character
(Alfie would later draw on this ), this much-imitated
film is a joy. It set the pace and the scene for
British attitudes to sex and class in the sixties.
Along the way it provided great social comment
and lots of laughs.
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Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts
Writer: Alan Sillitoe Director: Karel Reisz
Albert Finney
tucking in to a good old British breakfast.
He needs to keep his strength up
The Servant (
1963 )
A rich but weak man is gradually undermined by
his sinister manservant and his 'sister'.
***********
This is a very effective film, with a dark and moody
plot and accomplished performances from the players.
Another very British theme, with 'Master and servant'
role reversals and power struggles.
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Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, Sarah Miles, Wendy Craig
Writer: Harold Pinter Director: Joseph Losey
Peculiarly
British class wars between Bogarde and Fox
This Sporting
Life ( 1963 )
A tough and violent miner becomes a successful rugby
player, but does not achieve happiness due to inner turmoil.
***********
The main character is so unsympathetic and his world
so bleak that it is hard to enjoy this film. But one
can appreciate the excellence of the production and
the skills of the cast.
***********
Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel,
William Hartnell, Colin Blakely
Writer: David Storey Director: Lindsay Anderson
Richard Harris
and Rachel Roberts
The Spy Who
Came In
From The Cold ( 1965 )
Double dealing and deception during the cold war.
***********
A standard spy story given the sixties treatment.
***********
Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Sam Wanamaker,
Rupert Davies, Michael Hordern,
Robert Hardy, Bernard Lee
Writer: Paul Dehn Director: Martin Ritt
Espionage and
skullduggery at the zoo
Summer
Holiday ( 1962 )
Four young London Transport mechanics borrow a
double-decker bus for a European holiday.
***********
A classic, entertaining British pop musical.
***********
Cliff Richard, Melvyn Hayes, Una Stubbs
Writers: Peter Myers, Ronnie Cass Director: Peter Yates
A Taste Of
Honey ( 1961 )
The exploits of a pregnant Lancastrian teenager, her
immoral mother, black lover and homosexual friend.
***********
A classic with cleverly-drawn characters. Strong on
comedy and storyline, this is another one not to be missed.
***********
Rita Tushingham, Dora Bryan, Murray Melvin
Writer: Shelagh Delaney Director: Tony Richardson
Rita Tushingham
and Dora Bryan
Three Into
Two Won't Go ( 1969 )
A married travelling salesman has an
affair with a young woman hitch-hiker.
To the wife's chagrin, she stays at their home.
***********
Real-life husband and wife Steiger and Bloom put
in good performances in this sex drama.
***********
Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, Judy Geeson,
Peggy Ashcroft, Paul Rogers
Writer: Edna O'Brien Director: Peter Hall
To Sir With
Love ( 1967 )
A West Indian teacher works at a tough East End school.
***********
Rather sentimental treatment of the subject, it spawned
a hit for Lulu singing the title song and a TV series Please
Sir.
***********
Sidney Poitier, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall,
Lulu, Geoffrey Bayldon, Patricia Routledge
Writer/Director: James Clavell
Judy Geeson has
to stay behind after school
Tom Jones (
1963 ) 
18th century romp where a young man is raised by
the local squire. He has lots of adventures
and marries the squire's daughter.
***********
Although this was not faithful to the original novel,
it was successful both critically and financially.
Lots of sexy scenes helped its box office appeal
and it provided lots of neat tricks and gimmicks
to keep the viewer amused. Another ground-breaking
movie that was much mimicked.
***********
Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith,
Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, David Warner
Writer: John Osborne Director: Tony Richardson
Tom Jones (
Finney ) with his worldly possessions
2001: A Space
Odyssey ( 1968 )
This seminal movie charts man's progress from
ape to astronaut.
***********
This film is full of space-age imagery and clever
special effects and models. This is all accompanied
by a classical soundtrack. The eerie prediction that
computers will take over mankind is, thankfully
yet to be realised!! A must see.
***********
Gary Lockwood, Keir Dullea,
William Sylvester, Leonard Rossiter
Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
Director: Stanley Kubrick
H.A.L. 'says
goodbye' to one of the crew
Two-Way
Stretch ( 1960 )
Three convicts escape jail to rob a maharajah.
***********
Good, fun, comic caper with a seasoned comedy cast.
***********
Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Wilfrid Hyde-White,
Bernard Cribbins, David Lodge, Irene Handl,
Liz Fraser, Beryl Reid
Writers: John Warren, Len Heath Director: Robert Day
Up The
Junction ( 1967 )
A well-off girl crosses the Thames from
Chelsea to Clapham to live with the working classes.
***********
Based on a successful TV drama, this
fails to deliver the same punch.
***********
Suzy Kendall, Dennis Waterman, Adrienne Posta,
Maureen Lipman, Liz Fraser, Hylda Baker, Alfie Bass
Writer: Roger Smith Director: Peter Collinson
Maureen Lipman, Suzy Kendall and Adrienne Posta
are Up The Junction
The VIPs (
1963 )
Passengers at London airport are delayed by
fog and have to spend the night at a hotel.
The drama unfolds as we learn about
their relationships and lives.
***********
Clever and accomplished tale which exploits
the real-life pairing of Burton and Taylor.
And an Oscar for the wonderful Rutherford.
***********
Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret Rutherford,
Rod Taylor, Maggie Smith, Louis Jourdon, Orson Welles
Writer: Terence Rattigon Director: Anthony Asquith
Elizabeth Taylor
is one of the VIPs
The Virgin
Soldiers ( 1969 )
The exploits of British army recruits in Singapore in
1960.
***********
As can be expected, the comedy is bawdy but
nevertheless real. The situations are well observed.
***********
Hywel Bennett, Nigel Patrick, Lynn Redgrave,
Nigel Davenport, Rachel Kempson
Writer: John Hopkins Director: John Dexter
Whistle Down
The Wind ( 1961 )
An escaped and injured convict hides on the
moors. He is discovered by a group of young
children who mistake him for Jesus Christ.
***********
This film is a winner on all fronts. Charming,
well-played, entertaining, a perfect portrayal
of childhood innocence.
***********
Hayley Mills, Alan Bates, Bernard Lee
Writers: Keith Waterhouse, Willis Hall
Director: Bryan Forbes
The children pay
homage to 'Jesus'
Women In Love
( 1969 )
Two girls have their first sexual experiences in the
1920s.
***********
Most famous for its nude wrestling scene,
this is a creditable translation from the novel to film.
Good performances by all and excellent period detail.
***********
Glenda Jackson, Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Jennie Linden
Writer: Larry Kramer Director: Ken Russell
Oliver Reed and
Glenda Jackson.
Work Is A
Four-Letter Word ( 1968 )
A power station worker grows mushrooms which causes
problems in his private life.
***********
This film featured Cilla Black who, up until then,
had done little wrong. But even with the talents
of David Warner and direction of Peter Hall
the film proved to be a big disappointment.
***********
David Warner, Cilla Black
Writer: Jeremy Brooks Director: Peter Hall
The Yellow
Rolls Royce ( 1964 )
Three stories linked to one car, featuring
a gangster, an aristocrat and a Millionairess.
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Literally, a star vehicle without any
sense of direction and no connecting routes.
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Rex Harrison, Jeanne Moreau, Edmund Purdom,
Moira Lister, Roland Culver, Shirley MacLaine,
George C. Scott, Alan Delon, Art Carny, Ingrid
Bergman, Omar Sharif, Joyce Grenfell
Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Anthony Asquith
Yellow
Submarine ( 1968 )
The cartoon adventures of The Beatles in Pepperland.
***********
Featuring Beatles songs, and with clever and
witty animation, this film is mandatory viewing.
Having resisted further films after A Hard Day's
Night and Help!, The Beatles were surprised and liked
it so much they made a guest appearance in it.
***********
Writers: Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelssohn,
Erich Segal Director: George Duning
The Young
Ones ( 1961 )
The son of a rich man starts a youth club who
put on a show to raise funds.
***********
Rather clichéd story, but a classic British pop
musical even so.
***********
Cliff Richard, Robert Morley,
Richard O'Sullivan, Melvyn Hayes
Writers: Peter Myers, Ronald Cass
Director: Sidney J.Furie
Zulu ( 1964 )
In 1879, a hundred or so British soldiers make a
stand against several thousand Zulu warriors.
Days before one thousand British troops suffered
total annihilation in a previous battle.
Things look bleak indeed.
***********
An epic tale which introduced Michael Caine to the
movie-going public, albeit as an upper-class officer.
He and Baker give fine performances as do the rest
of the strong cast. The sheer, sickening waste of life
on both sides comes through. The movie is on a grand
scale, the action is excellent and the drama well-paced.
***********
Michael Caine, Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins
( narrator Richard Burton )
Writers: John Prebble, Cy Endfield
Director: Cy Endfield
Stanley Baker
directing the battle of Rorke's Drift
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