Mods May Day circa 1979
The System is set in a British seaside village where the local young men mingle among the summer's tourists in search of sexual conquests. The group's leader, Tinker (Oliver Reed), aims to entrap a fashion model (Jane Merrow) from a well-to-do family, but he finds himself unexpectedly falling in love. With the tables turned, Tinker begins to see that maybe it's not the tourists who are ebing used in these sexual games. A gem of a film, which was directed by Michael Winner.
I've seen some people compare The System to Quadrophenia - probably because it revolves around a group of sharp-suited teens at a seaside resort (Torbay to be precise) in 1964. But this is a million miles away from that - The System is a slice of social realism from the period just before the 60s really started to swing and unlike much of the output of the era, a film that looks to the continent rather than the kitchensink for inspiration - Fellini, Antonioni and the nouvelle vague all influenced Winner during this time.
Winner also wanted the film to be current, to appeal to a teen audience, using a young cast and a teen-friendly storyline. And as in other Winner gems, the cast is headed up by Oliver Reed as Tinker Taylor, leading a gang (which includes the likes of David Hemmings as the new boy and John Alderton as the one on the way out) who practice 'The System'. What's 'The System'? Well, it's a way of covering all means of meeting girls during the season - the transport, the shops, the beach and the night life. And in turn, each one of the boys gets 'the pick' of the girls (known as thrushes) for a day. Cinedelica
Winner also wanted the film to be current, to appeal to a teen audience, using a young cast and a teen-friendly storyline. And as in other Winner gems, the cast is headed up by Oliver Reed as Tinker Taylor, leading a gang (which includes the likes of David Hemmings as the new boy and John Alderton as the one on the way out) who practice 'The System'. What's 'The System'? Well, it's a way of covering all means of meeting girls during the season - the transport, the shops, the beach and the night life. And in turn, each one of the boys gets 'the pick' of the girls (known as thrushes) for a day. Cinedelica
I first saw this years ago when I was probably 13 or 14, it was the kind of film that was shown on a Friday night on Westward TV after Dainton, I loved it then and it has sat in my mind every since.
It's set in Torquay and Paignton, and explores summer life in 1964, exceptional scenes of the local area. This clip starts in the 400 Club on Torquay Harbourside and only gets better. It's worth watching for the scenery alone.
Hope you enjoy it.
Buy It Now
It's set in Torquay and Paignton, and explores summer life in 1964, exceptional scenes of the local area. This clip starts in the 400 Club on Torquay Harbourside and only gets better. It's worth watching for the scenery alone.
Hope you enjoy it.
Buy It Now
Saturday Night Out (1964) - Coming soon
The initial write-up for Saturday Night Out described it as a tale of swinging London for a group of sailors of shore leave. It's not quite that - but it's still a very good film.
Dating back to 1964, it's more a tale of pre-swinging London, with the 'action' set around the London docks of the day, a mix of bomb craters, old terraces, newly-built tower blocks and old-fashioned pubs - and one such pub is where it all starts.
Off the ship and with 24 hours of leave, five sailors (and one passenger) are looking for thrills. One heads to his 'mum' (aka girlfriend), another (the sole Australian) looks for culture at the Royal Festival Hall, three head for the pub and the last one (George Hudson, played by Bernard Lee) goes to an upmarket hotel. And over the course of 100 minutes, we see how those nights pan out.
Wanted reviews on Blow Up - The Knack - Any of the kitchen sink dramas.