Beyond the Roundels

I watched this the other day and felt the need to picspam (though it's in b&w and doesn't even have David Collings). Anyway, it's a film starring Rachel Roberts and James Maxwell and it's one of the British "kitchen sink" oeuvre. (Or New Wave, the booklet calls it.) So, just think, I can painlessly give you a piece of British film and social history and you don't even have to watch the thing.

It also reminded me how much influence stuff like this had on (well many, many things, but also) early Doctor Who (strange, but true, in between the SF stuff and the cheesy B-Movie things. After all, Verity Lambert found William Hartnell in This Sporting Life - Rachel Roberts's next film after this one - and I'd be willing to bet she saw this, too). Girl on Approval was not as bleak as I anticipated/feared (I stressed a lot while watching this - I've seen Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Room at the Top and A Taste of Honey so I didn't trust them one bit). It's about a couple who foster a difficult teenager, the first time that topic had been covered by British cinema, and even though it was very dated, 1950s-stilted in places and occasionally a bit over-educational, it was very honest in the way it tackled that and Annette Whiteley as the girl (Sheila) reminded me very strongly of some of the young people I've known in some of the places I've worked. (It would be nice to say that the problem was dated as well, but it isn't. It's exactly the same, or even worse fifty years on.)

Plus, while it didn't help me for Copper-related reasons, it was the first time I found James Maxwell playing 'ordinary' and, yes, I was right, he's extremely likeable. (I think, anyway.) Aside from my needless stressing, it was exactly what I was after in that respect.

(Anyway, I found something else with David Collings next; my watching this week has been interesting but it was very much a sudden and unexpected return to my A-Level Media Studies and much too tiring.)

( Girl on Approval - epic picspam with spoilers )

Crossposted from Dreamwidth -- Comments there: