Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saturday Night and Sunday Morning | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Karel Reisz |
| Produced by | Tony Richardson |
| Written by | Alan Sillitoe |
| Starring | Albert Finney Shirley Anne Field Rachel Roberts Hylda Baker Norman Rossington |
| Music by | John Dankworth |
| Cinematography | Freddie Francis |
| Editing by | Seth Holt |
| Distributed by | Bryanston Films (UK) Continental Films (US) |
| Release date(s) |  November 1960 3 April 1961 |
| Running time | 89 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is a 1960 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alan Sillitoe. Sillitoe adapted the screenplay himself and the film was directed by Karel Reisz.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The film, based on the novel of the same name, tells the story of Arthur Seaton, a young Nottingham factory worker, who is having an affair with Brenda, the wife of an older co-worker. He also has a relationship with Doreen, a woman closer to his own age. When Brenda gets pregnant, Arthur asks his aunt for advice on aborting the child. Brenda's husband discovers the affair, and his brother and a fellow soldier give Arthur a serious beating. The film ends on an ambiguous note, with a recovered Arthur and Doreen discussing marriage and the prospect of a new home.
[edit] Style
The film is considered to be the first of the social-realist or "kitchen sink dramas" of the 1960's. Others include Tony Richardson's (a producer on this film) The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (from Alan Sillitoe's 1959 collection of short stories of the same name) and A Taste of Honey; and John Schlesinger's A Kind of Loving and Billy Liar. It was at the forefront of the British New Wave, films dealing with working class issues in a serious manner for the first time, and portraying the more realistic side of everyday issues such as sex, unwanted pregnancy and abortion.
[edit] Filming locations
Much of the exterior filming was done on location in Nottingham, but some scenes were not. The night scene with a pub named "The British Flag" in the background was filmed along Culvert Road in Battersea, London, the pub being at the junction of Culvert Road and Sheepcote Lane (now Rowditch Lane).
The closing scenes show the lead characters on a grassy slope overlooking a housing estate with new construction going on. According to an article in the Nottingham Evening News on 30 March 1960, this was filmed in Wembley with the assistance of Nottingham builders Simms Sons & Cooke who set up a staged "building site" on location.
[edit] Cast
- Albert Finney as Arthur Seaton
- Shirley Anne Field as Doreen
- Rachel Roberts as Brenda
- Hylda Baker as Aunt Ada
- Norman Rossington as Bert
- Bryan Pringle as Jack
- Robert Cawdron as Robboe
- Edna Morris as Mrs. Bull
- Elsie Wagstaff as Mrs. Seaton
- Frank Pettitt as Mr. Seaton
- Avis Bunnage as Mousy Woman
- Colin Blakely as Loudmouth
- Irene Richmond as Doreen's Mother
- Louise Dunn as Betty
- Anne Blake as Civil Defence Officer
- Peter Madden as Drunken Man
- Cameron Hall (Actor) as Mr. Bull
- Alister Williamson as Police Constable
- Peter Sallis as Man in Suit (uncredited)
[edit] Awards
The film won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film in 1961.
[edit] Popular culture references
The film is also the origin for the title of the debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not of Sheffield rock band Arctic Monkeys. The film is also the origin for the title of the live album Saturday Night, Sunday Morning by The Stranglers.
[edit] External links
- Saturday Night and Sunday Morning at the Internet Movie Database
- British Film Institute article
- British New Wave Essay on Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, at BrokenProjector.com. Archived at Webcite from this original URL 2008-05-08.
| Preceded by Sapphire |
BAFTA Award for Best British Film 1961 |
Succeeded by A Taste of Honey |
