Blanche Fury

I'd never seen this before, so taped it yesterday lunchtime and settled down to watch it last night. Really rather good, I thought - a bit cliched, but people are cliched sometimes and it brings the cliches to life.

It was just reaching the climax, when, horrors, the tape ended! I'd chosen too short a tape. Much lamenting and gnashing of teeth ensued.

Could anyone please tell me what happens in the last c. 10 mins of the film, after the meeting between John Mills and his daughter's boyfriend? Many thanks.

penfold

Okay, the trouble between the white gang and the mainly black crowd around the bonfire finally kicks off. There is a bit of a rallying cry in the black community, and the tenement where Johnny Sekka and Earl Cameron live is called up as it were. Earl Cameron(Gabe)'s wife goes after him, as do Syms and Mills after Sekka....there is a bit of a rumble, all get involved, women included....and Gabe/Cameron gets pushed into the fire....the police arrive and break up the fight, Gabe is pulled from the fire and whisked to hospital...Mills takes Syms and Sekka back to the family home, and lays down a few practicalities to Mum(Brenda De Banzie) whereupon they both go downstairs to start to talk things out with Syms and Sekka.
The end.
I thought it was a cracker myself, obviously inspired by the original Notting Hill Riots....pretty unflinching, and a bit of a social document.

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

Phil Turner

I couldn't agree more. A cracking social drama, which has lost very little of its power and relevance. Top notch performances all round, particularly from John Mills as the Trade Unionist forced to confront his own liberal values.

Regards
Phil Turner

Blanche Fury

Many thanks for that. Thoroughly agree about the performances. I thought the best was Brenda de Banzi (hope I've spelt that correctly), especially the scene where she tells her husband what she really thinks of their marriage. Understated and thus all the more powerful.

Windthrop

Agree with all the above about the movie but was surprised when it was mentioned in the Saturday documentary John Mills was airbrushed out. You wouldn't have known he was involved with the movie from that programme.

Torquemada

Good film, especially for the time. I was more than a little surprised to see it on at lunch-time considering some of the racist language used - good to see the BBC getting some of it's common sense back in order and dodging the knee-jerk PC reaction for a change.

batman

I know how you feel .... I set the recorder for while we were away (this and the Whisperers were the only two I wanted to record) and ended up with only about 20m of it .... I'd forgotten to rewind the tape!

Bats.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

penfold

We have a saying hereabouts...."Old age don't come alone...."

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

DB7

A good portrayal from Brenda de Banzie, but I thought Mills switch from liberal shop steward lecturing his members to small-minded parent lacked credibility and robbed the film of subtlety.

batman

You're not wrong there. While I was on holiday I had a coffee in a roadside cafe called Penfold's Place. Very nice it was too.

Bats.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"