Jump to content

Linda (1960 film): Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
link
Line 48: Line 48:


==Production==
==Production==
Don Sharp was offered the job of directing by Independent Artists who were pleased with the job he had just done for them on ''The Professionals''.<ref name="donthree">{{cite interview |last=Sharp |first=Don |subject-link= |interviewer=
Don Sharp was offered the job of directing by Independent Artists who were pleased with the job he had just done for them on ''[[The Professionals (1960 film)|The Professionals]]''.<ref name="donthree">{{cite interview |last=Sharp |first=Don |subject-link= |interviewer=Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson |title=Don Sharp Side 3|work= |date=2 November 1993 |publisher=History Project |location=London |url= https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/don-sharp|access-date=14 July 2021}}</ref> The film was made for Bryanston, and designed to play the bottom half of a double bill for that company. Carol White had just made ''Never Let Go'' but this was her first starring role. Filming began 23 May 1960 at Beaconsfield.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Kinematograph Weekly|first=Bill|last=Edwards|title=Production|date=10 March 1960|page=14}}</ref>
Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson |title=Don Sharp Side 3|work= |date=2 November 1993 |publisher=History Project |location=London |url= https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/don-sharp|access-date=14 July 2021}}</ref> The film was made for Bryanston, and designed to play the bottom half of a double bill for that company. Carol White had just made ''Never Let Go'' but this was her first starring role. Filming began 23 May 1960 at Beaconsfield.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Kinematograph Weekly|first=Bill|last=Edwards|title=Production|date=10 March 1960|page=14}}</ref>


The film was shot over 15 days. Don Sharp said the key to making a film with such a tight schedule was preplanning. He said, "Obviously you cannot do all the covering that you might on a longer schedule. So you plan to eliminate cover shots wherever possible to give yourself extra time for those sequences where you need them for dramatic cutting."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Kinematograph Weekly|title=Production|page=18|date=30 June 1960|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_kine-weekly_1960-06-30_517_2752/page/18/mode/1up?q=%22independent+artists%22+%22carol+white%22|first=Bill|last=Edwards}}</ref>
The film was shot over 15 days. Don Sharp said the key to making a film with such a tight schedule was preplanning. He said, "Obviously you cannot do all the covering that you might on a longer schedule. So you plan to eliminate cover shots wherever possible to give yourself extra time for those sequences where you need them for dramatic cutting."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Kinematograph Weekly|title=Production|page=18|date=30 June 1960|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_kine-weekly_1960-06-30_517_2752/page/18/mode/1up?q=%22independent+artists%22+%22carol+white%22|first=Bill|last=Edwards}}</ref>


White called it "an unmemorable B flick" in which her character "was a vulnerable, amazingly stupid girl from south of the river". She recalled "We spent days and days on location at Battersea Fun Fair, the icy wind like cold fingers up my dress as I went from whirlygigs to the big wheel, every shot being repeated until the director managed to film me with a dumb, exhilarated grin and my legs wide open."<ref>White p 145</ref>
White called it "an unmemorable B flick" in which her character "was a vulnerable, amazingly stupid girl from south of the river". She recalled, "We spent days and days on location at Battersea Fun Fair, the icy wind like cold fingers up my dress as I went from whirlygigs to the big wheel, every shot being repeated until the director managed to film me with a dumb, exhilarated grin and my legs wide open."<ref>White p 145</ref>


==Reception==
==Reception==

Revision as of 05:21, 11 September 2023

Linda
Promotional image
Directed byDon Sharp
Written byBill MacIlwraith
Produced byLeslie Parkyn
Julian Wintle
StarringCarol White
Alan Rothwell
CinematographyMichael Reed
Music byGary Hughes
Production
company
Distributed byBryanston Films (UK)
Release date
  • November 1960 (1960-11) (UK)
Running time
61 minutes
LandVereinigtes Königreich
SpracheEnglisch
Budget£22,300[1]

Linda is a 1960 British teen drama film, directed by Don Sharp and starring Carol White and Alan Rothwell.[2]

The film was shot on location in South London and Brighton, and played in cinemas as the support feature to Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Unseen for decades, this is currently considered a lost film, and is on the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films.[3]

Plot

Bored South London teenager Phil (Rothwell) joins a gang led by the Chief (Cavan Malone) and begins to be drawn into a world of petty crime and violence. When he meets Linda (White), his interest begins to shift away from the gang and towards her. She tries to pull him away from the gang's bad influence.

The couple go on a day trip to Brighton. On the way home Phil makes a pass at Linda, but is rebuffed as she tells him she is not that kind of girl. Later, the local coffee bar which acts as the gang's territory is threatened by incomers. The Chief musters his minions, and Phil agrees to join in after being duped into thinking that Linda is playing fast and loose with another boy. After the ruck, Phil finds out that he has been tricked by the Chief. Urged by the progressively-minded local vicar, he decides to leave the gang behind. Other members also see the light and join him, leaving the Chief on his own. Phil and Linda discuss the possibility of marriage.

Cast

Production

Don Sharp was offered the job of directing by Independent Artists who were pleased with the job he had just done for them on The Professionals.[4] The film was made for Bryanston, and designed to play the bottom half of a double bill for that company. Carol White had just made Never Let Go but this was her first starring role. Filming began 23 May 1960 at Beaconsfield.[5]

The film was shot over 15 days. Don Sharp said the key to making a film with such a tight schedule was preplanning. He said, "Obviously you cannot do all the covering that you might on a longer schedule. So you plan to eliminate cover shots wherever possible to give yourself extra time for those sequences where you need them for dramatic cutting."[6]

White called it "an unmemorable B flick" in which her character "was a vulnerable, amazingly stupid girl from south of the river". She recalled, "We spent days and days on location at Battersea Fun Fair, the icy wind like cold fingers up my dress as I went from whirlygigs to the big wheel, every shot being repeated until the director managed to film me with a dumb, exhilarated grin and my legs wide open."[7]

Reception

White said the film had "mixed reviews".[8] As a second feature, Linda received only passing attention from contemporary critics. The Cinema Exhibitors' Association commented favourably: "This is an unpretentious but amusing little film which combines action with humour and even some charm." The Monthly Film Bulletin was less enthusiastic, saying: "The author of this story would seem to be afraid of his subject. He steers a middle course which is neither one thing nor the other. Carol White does her best to look the part of a young tart-type, and Alan Rothwell is dressed for the part, but neither make much of an impression."

The film is considered of potential interest to cinema historians, both as an early directorial outing by Sharp and as a period piece capturing a very specific moment in British social history, with the additional nostalgia appeal of location shots of 1960 Brighton and Battersea Fun Fair.

Preservation status

This is considered a lost film, and is on the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films.[9]

White later made Gaolbreak which she described as "the story appearing to carry on where Linda had left off."[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films : An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 7. ISSN 1465-3451.
  2. ^ Vagg, Stephen (27 July 2019). "Unsung Aussie Filmmakers: Don Sharp – A Top 25". Filmink.
  3. ^ "Linda". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  4. ^ Sharp, Don (2 November 1993). "Don Sharp Side 3" (Interview). Interviewed by Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson. London: History Project. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  5. ^ Edwards, Bill (10 March 1960). "Production". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 14.
  6. ^ Edwards, Bill (30 June 1960). "Production". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 18.
  7. ^ White p 145
  8. ^ White p 157
  9. ^ "Linda". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  10. ^ Sharp p 149

Notes

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_(1960_film)&oldid=1174863530"