OLLIE REED. What a man. The very personification of everything both ‘chap’ and ‘bloke’, fiercely intellectual yet with a burning urge for several pints and a damn good fight. Like his drinking buddies Harris, Hemmings and O ‘Toole, only one of whom at time of writing remains with us, he trod that fine line ‘twixt artist and hooligan, attempted often in modern times by lesser talents with far less convincing results. Lest we forget, he was also a damned … [Read more...]

“You ought to know I’ve always had a liking for dramatic effects.” Corridor of Mirrors, made in British cinema’s most exciting year,1948, was the first film of both director Terence Young, and a youthful bit-part player named Christopher Lee. The actor recalls in his autobiography that Young loaned him a tuxedo for his big scene (a few snarky lines purred in a nightclub) so I watched with interest to see if Young had Lee make a little square out of his pocket … [Read more...]

While it's commonly referred to as being one of Alfred Hitchcock's overlooked gems, “Young and Innocent” is a thriller that takes a common plot, a young man wrongly accused of murder who tries to discover who the real murderer is, and adds a great script, great acting, and of course great directing by the master of suspense himself. Derrick de Marney plays Robert Tisdall, a young man who had a relationship with the murder victim several years earlier when he spent time in … [Read more...]

Originally a radio play by Charles Chilton, and then a stage musical produced by Joan Littlewood in 1963, `Oh! What a Lovely War` was the first film directed by Richard Attenborough. With an outstanding cast including minor but outstanding parts by Laurence Olivier, Dirk Bogarde and Susannah York, this film takes us into the surreal and moving events that shaped World War One. Amongst other things this film can be described as a collection of scenes following working class characters and their … [Read more...]

One of the most fascinating things about studying cinema and TV is the amount of subgenres your researches will throw up. Your average man in the street (and who cares what he thinks anyway? He probably wears a tracksuit!!) will be largely unfamiliar with terms such as ‘exploitation’ ‘giallo’ ‘WIP’ ‘or ‘quota quickie’, and those of us ‘in the know’ could be forgiven for feeling a sense of slight superiority. But even by those … [Read more...]

“Let’s start at the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start”. Sound advice, if you happen to be Julie Andrews. However,  viewing Joseph Losey’s work in a linear context, and therefore, judging him as you would any other director, is a tricky business- never more so than when dealing with SECRET CEREMONY,  a film which, forty-something years on, invites as much debate as when first released. Is it a work of genius? A by-product of the era … [Read more...]