Some People [DVD]

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Some People" stands up well. It has an authentic feel to it as it documents a moment on the cusp. No one could have been aware of what was to come and so it aims at what was happening rather than trying to give hints about its place in future history. "That'll Be the Day" did a very good job of documenting pre-63 UK youth but, because it was made in retrospect, it doesn't quite have the same effect.

Karl Williams. "Some People (1962) - Clive Donner - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Not many films used to be shot in Bristol, England in the 1960s. But Some People was shot entirely in and around the old city going out of its way to show the main characters in the very spots they would actually have been hanging about in real life as aimless teenagers. I know for certain because my parents were courting teens at that very time in that very place. I showed them the film recently (yes they're still a couple 54 years later) and the locations were very accurate to life as they knew it. My father actually worked in the Aircraft factory featured. The dance club in the film was the top spot for young Bristolians to cut a rug in 1962, a favorite place for them and all of their young friends (the front door manned by no less than Dave Prowse (not in the film unfortunately), the actor who made good as Darth Vader in a slightly better known film.) Bristol has changed but not so much that anyone familiar with it wouldn't know most of the locales. It was directed by Clive Donner who would make a name for himself with The Caretaker in 1963 and then head to Hollywood to make What’s New Pussycat? In 1965. I had a scene with Kenny where I’m in the bath shrinking my jeans. We had a Royal Premiere and The Duke of Edinburgh murmured to me “I liked you in the bath – does it really work?”“Yes, Your Highness” I replied, “You should try it some time!!” I would love to see the film again, but I have only seen it on television once, and that was probably about 20 years ago. It was filmed in Bristol and I know that the city has changed considerably since then, so it is now of interest not only for the content and story, but also for the location in which it was shot.The Beatles in '62 looked exactly the same as the boys in "Some People" before they helped sweep youth into a new phase. What an exciting time it was but it was made so much more exciting by the fact that youth in the UK had struggled so hard to be different in the greyness of life after the war.

Another particularly striking scene takes place in the Palace Hotel, an especially grand Victorian pub on Old Market. There Johnnie has a breakthrough conversation with his taciturn working class father played by Harry H. Corbett (whose Bristol accent, it must be said, ends up drifting to somewhere near Cork). Real pubs are rarely seen on film, especially in colour, and this is a particular lovely example – cast iron tables, a beaten up piano, everything dark with age, the aroma of smoke and stale beer positively wafting from the screen. Unfortunately, though it looked astonishing, it was plagued with structural problems and was demolished in 1994, which only adds to the value Some People holds as a record of a time and place. The 3rd unit were filming it disappearing into the distance – it was a BIG moment in aviation history! I would LOVE to see this film again, but haven't done so since its cinema release (which shows it had a big impact on me, over 40 years ago!) - on DVD, or even better on the big screen.

Gathering up DVD's of films that my dad could enjoy watching during the Easter holiday,I decided to dust down some old issues of a UK movie magazine called Empire,and to take a look at a column by genre film reviewer Kim Newman.Along with the re-released Horror titles,I was pleased to stumble upon a review by Newman about a very intriguing sounding 'Teen Rebel' title,which led to me getting set to pay a visit to 'swinging Bristol' for the first time. Some People was commissioned for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme so we had a great team. The music by Ron Grainer and Nic Roeg on 2nd Unit! Clive Donner’s directing style of cinéma vérité really helps to give a flavour of authenticity. The film also features a test flight of the Bristol 188 – a British supersonic research aircraft built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the late 50s. When I moved to Bristol last year I wanted to get to know its culture and so asked around for tips on which novels and films best represent the city. Some People was one of the suggestions and after a little hunting I found a DVD released by Network in 2013.

Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7thed.). London: Paladin. p.938. ISBN 0586088946. The film was shot entirely on location in Bristol with Anneke Willis recalling the crew arrived in Bristol three weeks before shooting to get the feel of Bristol with the boys learning the local accent, riding motorbikes and visiting local dance halls with much of the script being ad-libbed. RELATED MEDIA Billings, Josh (13 December 1962). "Three British Films Head the General Releases". Kinematograph Weekly. p.7 . Retrieved 7 March 2023. Apart from a shared title, the two projects have nothing in common. Where Cliff’s hit is something most people would probably rather forget, the film is a rather charming diversion. The story surrounding its production is intriguing too.

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Johnnie and his friends Bill (David Andrews) and Bert – a baby-faced David Hemmings – get into trouble racing their motorbikes along the Portway on the banks of the Avon and are banned from riding them which leaves them frustrated and deepens their boredom. Having the film set in Bristol rather than London is a masterstroke too. Again, it just gives an extra layer of authenticity, not least when the main participants wander around the department stores, cross the river, drop into a fish shop or have a drink in a pub. It’s more like the real 1960s on film. Some People (1962)

Eegah (1962) One night while driving home, hapless Roxy Miller (Marilyn Manning) almost runs down a giant caveman who has survived in… It was made to promote and raise money for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, which had been running for around six years at the time. Kenneth More agreed to take a role for nothing, partly because it was for a good cause, and also due to the fact he had nothing else to do; his once sparkling career was in decline following the end of his contract with Rank. “Nostalgic piece of whimsy”Director Clive Donner, who had been working in advertising, was approached to make a documentary to promote the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. Donner felt the documentary would only reach people who already knew about the scheme, and suggested they make a dramatic feature instead. [5] Radio Times Guide to Films (18thed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p.856. ISBN 9780992936440. Monthly Film Bulletin wrote "Not without charm and showing, for the most part, a nice attention to detail, this teenage film (the profits of which go to the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme) is transparently well-meaning and made with obvious affection. Unfortunately, it has nothing to add to that now painfully familiar delinquency formula which combines a liking for coffee bars, motor bikes and guitars with an inability to talk reasonably to Father. The script fails not because it is heavily weighted in favour of the Kenneth More character but because of the needlessly naive way in which this is done. Relying mainly on superficialities for its effects, the film finally outcasts the one thoroughly rootless delinquent who should have been its main concern." [11] Then, fuelled by jealousy over his girlfriend’s attraction to Johnnie, Bill tries to sabotage his friend’s new found stability. It’s small stuff – squabbling and scrapping, hardly Marlon Brando territory – but that makes it feel all the more authentically British. Those with an interest in public transport will thrill at the plentiful footage of the famous Bristol ‘Lodekka’ buses while aviation geeks will get a similar thrill from scenes of Mr Smith at work: when he isn’t encouraging young tearaways to play nicely together he is an engineer overseeing test flights of the Bristol 188 ‘Flaming Pencil’ supersonic jet.