Kenneth More agreed to play his role for nothing apart from his expenses because he had no other offers around the time, and the movie was for a good cause: all proceeds were to go to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme who commissioned the film [6] and the National Playing Fields Association. During filming he began an affair with one of the cast, Angela Douglas, who became his wife. [7] Donner called More's casting "our ace in the hole." [5] 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. 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] Serious Charge (1959) An unmarried vicar, the Reverend Howard Phillips (Anthony Quayle), newly arrived in the parish of Bellington, attempts to force local…

This film is what made me a Ray Brooks fan ... we haven't seen him nearly enough over the years (though I gather he is joining one of the UK TV soaps (I'm writing this in Oct 2005)). Nice to see some familiar faces too – Harry H. Corbett as the dad was a surprise, but Hemmings and Brooks, both of whom went on to bigger and better things in the decade, are an interesting watch too. Watching this, you really can’t imagine David Hemmings as a brash London photographer just four years later in Blow-Up. Shows how much he grew as an actor working in this kind of stuff. Anneke Wills is a minor revelation too, not least when she’s in a bath full of hot water shrinking on a pair of Levi’s. Sadly; politicians are more mixed-up than they ever were. Now, with lunatics like Harriet Harman and Patricia Hewitt resolutely destroying the nuclear family, marginalising fathers into non-existence, and feminising the education system, whilst selling-off school playing fields for development and criminalising almost every infringement of law; a whole generation of disaffected kids has arisen who are tragically represented by this movie's modern sequel: 'Kidulthood'. Britain is now officially the worst place in the western world to be a kid. (It's also the worst place to be old.) Radio Times Guide to Films (18thed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p.856. ISBN 9780992936440. Billings, Josh (13 December 1962). "Three British Films Head the General Releases". Kinematograph Weekly. p.7 . Retrieved 7 March 2023.Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7thed.). London: Paladin. p.938. ISBN 0586088946.

Despite their 26-year age difference, Douglas and Kenneth More began an affair while working on the film, with More eventually leaving his wife and marrying Douglas in 1968. They remained married until his death in 1982. His anxieties and jealousy come to the fore as his friends embrace the step into the unknown territory of adulthood that Bill simply isn’t ready for. The theme tune is particularly catchy. A strange little wind-instrument plays an introduction, and this features in the movie as having been constructed by one of the kids (a cut by ex-Shadows Jet Harris & Tony Meehan is still available from i-tunes, though they didn't cover it in the movie).Once I’d finally watched the film I was more curious than ever about Dad’s reaction and pressed him on it when we next went for a pint. With some reluctance he told me the story. 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. 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.

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. Band of Thieves (1962) Seven of the prisoners at Gaunstone Gaol have been encouraged to take up Trad jazz by a music-mad governor and… The story of three teenaged tearaways Johnnie, Bill and Bert who find themselves at odds with society. Following a brush with the law they have a chance meeting with a local choirmaster who offers them a way of making good. Then one night, while messing around in a church they’ve all but broken into, they are taken under the wing of Mr Smith, a local youth group organiser played by veteran British actor Kenneth More, who encourages them to form a pop group. According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was considered a "money maker" at the British box office in 1962. [8] The film reportedly made a profit, in part because of its low cost. [9] Donner said the film was a "huge success" which made "a lot of money" for the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme and also reignited his film career. [5] Critical reception [ edit ]

Featuring Kenneth More

Bill rejects Mr Smith’s mentorship seeing in it an attempt to control him and breaks with Johnnie and Bert, falling in with a gang of hard-cases. 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.

This was an excellent movie for its time. It touched more closely upon the growing pains of young adults than many another. Like Johnnie, Bill and Bert, he and his 14-year-old friends on a Somerset council estate were often bored and got up to mischief. When it wasn’t joyriding, it was repeatedly breaking into the local CO-OP to steal cigarettes. 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. Singing Nun, The (1966) Debbie Reynolds plays the title role as novice Belgian Dominican nun, Sister Ann, careening around the countryside on a motor… Some People is a 1962 film directed by Clive Donner, starrring Kenneth More and Ray Brooks. [2] It is centred on the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. [3] Premise [ edit ]

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Having the film set in Bristol rather than London is a masterstroke, giving it 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. An early film from director Clive Donner who would continue to capture the Swinging Sixties in films like Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush(1967) and What’s New Pussycat?(1965). Karl Williams. "Some People (1962) - Clive Donner - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. 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. So all in all, a fairly interesting film for various reasons, with the plot being somewhere near the bottom. This was pretty safe teen rebellion fodder then and even more so now. Blu-ray sleeve of the movie