The Destructors *solved*

[lancethecook]

maybe i dreamt this , an old black and white movie.A terraced house , all around is condemned and to be pulled down but one old guy wont budge.

The local kids think hes daft, i suppose it was his home and all he knew and didnt want to go.

they enter the house when he goes out and saw through important woodwork, this is over several days, ultimately when he returns home one day , he slams the door and his house falls down, i cant remember if he is killed in the accident but certainly the kids are full of remorse.

I would dearly love to see this film again.

Any ideas?



[ 27. April 2003, 18:50: Message edited by: DB7 ]

[Hugo]

This is the plot of a famous short story by Graham Greene called THE DESTRUCTORS. It was filmed in I think the 1980s under the same title but as it was a short film (around 40 mins) I suspect it will be difficut to trace.

[cornershop15]

An early post that I've just come across via 'Who's Online'. I've never heard of the film (or even Lance, who's been here for years) but am wondering if anyone has any new information all these years later. Unless Lance has seen it since, maybe newer members have a copy?

[billy bentley]

I'm pretty sure I used to have a paperback edition of Graham Greene's Short Stories that was issued in support of a TV series of those very stories. Perhaps "The Destructors" (a superb read) was part of that series ?

[Rowdon]

I saw this when I was younger and it's burned into my brain, full of little details. I remembered, for some reason, it had Ray Burdis' brother in it - Ray Burdis being something of a hero of mine fior his appearances in You Must Be Joking at the time ... The thing is the bloke in the gang that I remember as Ray Burdis' brother can't have been, as Mark Burdis was only 7 when it was made. Imdb says 1975, but I would have thought it was a bit later ... still, they're right I'm sure. And I don't remember it being set in the 50s (but then mid 70s Britain, mid 50s Britain - how much change in the backgrounds would be needed?). Anyway, here's the imdb link.



"Shades of Greene" The Destructors (1975)

[cornershop15]

Didn't realise until I checked that link, Rowdon, but I only mentioned that episode a few months ago ...



From 'Where Were They Then?':



Phil Daniels (right) as '1st Boy' in the final scene of The Naked Civil Servant, with John Hurt of course:

The young actor on the left, credited as '2nd Boy', must be Raymond Boal. Just before this classic play was televised in 1975, he and Phil could also be seen in an episode of the series Shades of Greene called The Destructors, one of Graham Greene's stories. Maybe this led to their casting as the rough kids who attempt to blackmail Quentin Crisp in this scene?



Does the sight of young Phil and his mate Raymond refresh anyone's memory of The Destructors, especially Lance?

Some of the other Gang Members:

I might have confused Mark and Ray Burdis over the years but saw a few episodes of a comedy series they were in called Operation Good Guys. I know someone who loved that show but haven't heard him mention it since it finished. Apparently Mark played a PC in several episodes of A Touch of Frost but I can't recall him at the moment.



Andrew Paul was in The Bill for years, as PC Dave Quinnan, but I was surprised - and disappointed - to see him in the very bland series Where the Heart Is ... as a Northerner! I think he played Keith Barron's son. My main memory of Andrew, however, is from Noel's House Party, where he and Graham Cole, his colleague from The Bill (PC Stamp), formed a double-act who would turn up most weeks at Noel Edmonds' imaginery home.



Another Gang Member was Tony London, whose first credit this is at IMDb (not sure about that). I used to see this young actor on TV fairly regularly for a time but can't quite picture where from. Probably from Minder, but then it could have been his 'turn' as a Young Porter in The Elephant Man. Significantly, he appeared twice in the often-thought-about Turtle's Progress, on ITV. Is that where I recognise him from most? All these credits were around 30 years ago.



He's been there, or thereabouts on TV since then but not nearly as much as his 70s and 80s 'heydey', when he was a contemporary of other rough-looking youths like the aforementioned Phil Daniels, Ray Winstone and George Sweeney. In retrospect, however, I think Tony more resembled squeaky-voiced comedian Joe Pasquale!

TVTimes Synopsis for Shades of Greene - The Destructors:

Mr. Thomas [Michael Byrne] lives quietly with his cat in a fine old house that has survived

the blitz. But when young Trevor [Nicholas Drake] joins the Wormsley Street Tigers gang,

he gets the idea of turning "Old Misery's" house into the gang's most dangerous adventure.

Thanks to original poster Lance and of course Rowdon for inspiring my latest post Didn't expect to be doing all this when I woke up!

[Rowdon]

That scene posted from the Naked Civil Servant contains one of the film's many great lines, along the lines of "I am one of the stately homos of England".



As always, thanks for your work, Mr Shop.

[cornershop15]

That's right! I thought you were going to repeat Phil's (now grossly offensive) dialogue from that very moment:



"Hey, Mister. Me and my mates, we've been watching you - you're a p**f, int ya?"



I'm sure we can think of a few more lines if we find a thread for the play (bound to be one somewhere).

[cornershop15]

Unless there's an unlikely DVD release in the pipeline, this is my final contribution:

[billy bentley]

I would have thought that "Shades of Greene" would have had potential as a DVD release, am I wrong ?