By the mid-1950s Britain finally seemed to be on an economic rebound from over two decades of deprivation caused by the Great Depression, World War II, and the immediate postwar period of continued shortages. Despite this admirable recovery, young artists were dissatisfied with the state of British culture. Writers, actors, directors, and artists railed against materialism, the rigid class system, and social issues such as racism, abortion, and homosexuality. Social realism provided a style and look, distantly akin to Italian neo-realism of the late 40s, French poetic realism of the 30s, and American postwar documentary-style narratives set in New York City tenements. Disparagingly described as “kitchen sink realism,” some British paintings, plays, and novels had begun to examine the lives of working class “blokes and birds,” young men and women with dreams or full of rage at the inequities of society. John Osborne’s play Look Back in Anger (1956) set the stage for a powerful body of work in literature, in the theater, and finally on the screen. Some of the finest British film directors of the 60s and 70s started in the realist style – among them, Tony Richardson, Lindsay Anderson, John Schlesinger, and Basil Dearden. The talented monsters of the British (and later American) stage and screen exploded out of these kitchen sink dramas – Richard Burton, Albert Finney, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Finch, and Michael Caine. Even though the classic “kitchen sink” cinema lasted only about seven years, the British realist torch was picked up and carried even farther by Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, both of whom continue to create powerful films unafraid of current social problems. This Austin Film Society series will present six of the great British Realist films of the late 50s and early 60s. -- Chale Nafus, Director of Programming, Austin Film Society
Special thanks to MGM Archives, Warner Bros Archives, Janus Films, Janet Pierson, Photofest, and Evan Driscoll
Jimmy Porter is full of passion and rage. Blasting his heart out on his trumpet in a smoky jive club and on deserted city streets, he roars through life and relationships. He is the quintessential angry young man of late '50s Britain.
A young Irish farmgirl moves to Dublin to work in a grocery store and experience modern life in a big city. Her brash roommate tries to teach her how to flirt with boys. A middle-aged writer, new to Ireland and the countryside, becomes intrigued by Kate’s naïve attempts to be grown up and sophisticated. » read more
What happens when a sailor returns from a long time abroad only to find both his home and wife gone? A rare British realist film directed by a woman, one of the major talents of the British stage, Joan Littlewood.
A ruthless blackmailer has cast a net over the lives and incomes of various men in contemporary London at a time that homosexual relations between consenting adults were still punishable by imprisonment. Melville Farr, a married attorney destined for a seat on the highest court, is caught up in the web when a young man he had befriended is arrested. » read more
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down!” is Arthur Seaton’s mantra as he works over a hot metal lathe in a huge Nottingham factory. He looks at the worn-out, humbled older men, “ground down before the war,” and wants nothing like that for his life. » read more
With his hard-working dad dead and his mum fooling around with her “fancy man,” Colin Smith slips into committing a few bits of non-violent crime. Tom Courtenay's moody breakthrough performance is still haunting 45 years later. » read more
