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Linda (1960 film)

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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
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£22,300[1]

Linda is a 1960 British teen drama film, directed by Don Sharp and starring Carol White and Alan Rothwell.[2] On its release it played as the support feature to Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960).[citation needed]

It is 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 joins a gang led by the Chief and begins to be drawn into a world of petty crime and violence. When he meets Linda, 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 (1960).[4] The film was made for Bryanston Films, and designed to play the bottom half of a double bill. Filming began 23 May 1960 at Beaconsfield.[5]

The film was shot over 15 days, on location in South London and Brighton.[citation needed]

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]

In her autobiography White called the film "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]

Carol White had recently appeared in Never Let Go (1960) but Linda was her first starring role. She later starred in Gaolbreak (1962) which she described as "the story appearing to carry on where Linda had left off."[7]: 149 

Reception

White said the film had "mixed reviews".[7]: 157  As a second feature, Linda received only passing attention from contemporary critics.[citation needed]

The Cinema Exhibitors' Association commented favourably: "This is an unpretentious but amusing little film which combines action with humour and even some charm."[citation needed]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This is a far cry from the ordinary run of teenage stories. Presented with insight, humour and even charm, it is touchingly played by Carol White (Linda), adequately by a long-haired, bootlace-tied and tight-trousered Alan Rothwell (Phil). The script is fresh and sympathetic when it deals with the young couple; elsewhere its details are sometimes hard to swallow. The gang is observed ingenuously, and both the character of the vicar and the way in which the teenagers are wooed away from Chief seem to be offering a somewhat treacly solution to a serious problem. But despite its air of calculation, this is an entertaining little film, and agreeable in its attempt to do something positive and different."[8]

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. ^ "Linda". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  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. ^ a b c White, Carol (1982). Carol Comes Home. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. p. 145. ISBN 978-0450055287.
  8. ^ "Linda". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 28 (324): 9. 1 January 1961 – via ProQuest.
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