Charlie Bubbles

Last updated

Charlie Bubbles
"Charlie Bubbles" (1967).jpg
Film Poster
Directed by Albert Finney
Written by Shelagh Delaney
Produced by Michael Medwin
StarringAlbert Finney
Billie Whitelaw
Liza Minnelli
Colin Blakely
Cinematography Peter Suschitzky
Edited by Fergus McDonell
Music byMisha Donat
Production
companies
Universal Pictures
Memorial Enterprises
Distributed by Rank Film Distributors
Release dates
  • 11 February 1968 (1968-02-11)(US)
  • 19 September 1968 (1968-09-19)(UK)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million [1] or £318,483 [2] [3]

Charlie Bubbles is a 1968 British comedy-drama film directed by Albert Finney (in his feature directorial debut) and starring Finney, Billie Whitelaw and Liza Minnelli. [4] The screenplay was by Shelagh Delaney.

Contents

A writer returns to his home city after achieving success in London.

Plot

Successful writer Charlie Bubbles glides around in a gold Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III convertible – CB 1E. Reminded by a phone call from his ex-wife Lottie that he has promised to take their son Jack to a football match, Bubbles sets off from London with his secretary Eliza to drive to Manchester. The next day he drives to Lottie's farm, and it becomes obvious that visits are few and far between.

Father and son go to a football match and eat hotdogs from their private box at Old Trafford. An old school friend turned newspaper reporter enters the box and they chat awkwardly for a few moments. The film then sharply cuts to scenes outside the stadium where Bubbles is desperately looking for Jack, who has gone missing. Bubbles returns in panic to the farm without the boy, driving the Rolls erratically and stopping to vomit on the way, only to find Jack has made his own way home. Next morning Bubbles awakes to find a large red balloon moored near the farm. He climbs into the basket and drifts away.

Cast

Release

It was screened at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival on the 11th, just before the festival was called off due to the events of May 1968 in France.

Critical response

Although the film received critical acclaim, it was not a commercial success in Britain.[ citation needed ] Finney blamed this on what he regarded as a mishandled and much-delayed release by Rank Film Distributors. [5]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Everything is in a continuous present, without perspective; and despite the actual journey, the film is more a journey of inner discovery, the motorway a mysterious tunnel, the locations like vivid dream pictures. In this setting, the film explores a series of relationships – some casual, some transient, one deep. And as in a comparable study of a circle of relationships, Le Feu Follet, each character just eludes the central figure. But Charlie Bubbles avoids diagnosis; and its integrity is clearest in the treatment of the relationship between Charlie and Lottie. Here everything possible has long been said, yet the brief, flat exchanges emerge charged with recollection and irony ... Despite occasional lapses with enigma and stylisation for its own sake, as in the motorway café sequence, Albert Finney has made a promising debut as a director." [6]

In The New York Times review, critic Renata Adler praised the film, which she called "a becalmed Blow-Up " and "a completely honest and original thing." She also added: "The ending, a low key absurdist touch, is as quiet, beautifully made and carefully thought out as the rest." [7]

Leslie Halliwell said: "A little arid and slow in the early stages, and with a rather lame end ... this is nevertheless a fascinating chracter study with a host of wry comedy touches and nimbly sketched characters; in its unassuming way it indicts many of the symbols people lived by in the sixties." [8]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Rich in resonances of the era." [9]

Alexander Walker wrote: "The trouble with Charlie Bubbles is that the character is an extremely passive type. All the other people in the film are seen or felt by him." [10]

Home media

The film was released on DVD in September 2008, and on Blu-ray in November 2018.

Accolades

Whitelaw won a 1969 BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Charlie Bubbles and Twisted Nerve . [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Finney</span> English actor (1936–2019)

Albert Finney was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining fame for movie acting during the early 1960s, debuting with The Entertainer (1960), directed by Tony Richardson, who had previously directed him in theatre. He maintained a successful career in theatre, movies and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liza Minnelli</span> American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1946)

Liza May Minnelli is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades, and is one of the few performers awarded a non-competitive EGOT. Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour and subject of the 2024 documentary, Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincente Minnelli</span> American stage and film director (1903–1986)

Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director. For a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovation and artistry in musical films. As of 2024, six of his films have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piers Haggard</span> British film and television director (1939–2023)

Piers Inigo Haggard, OBE was a British director who worked in film, television, and theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billie Whitelaw</span> English actress (1932–2014)

Billie Honor Whitelaw was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was also known for her portrayal of Mrs. Baylock, the demonic nanny in the 1976 horror film The Omen.

<i>Secret Ceremony</i> 1968 British film by Joseph Losey

Secret Ceremony is a 1968 British drama-thriller film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow and Robert Mitchum.

<i>The Krays</i> (film) 1990 British film by Peter Medak

The Krays is a 1990 British biographical crime drama film directed by Peter Medak. The film is based on the lives and crimes of the British gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, often referred to as The Krays. The film stars Billie Whitelaw, Tom Bell, and real life brothers Gary and Martin Kemp, both of whom were members of the band Spandau Ballet.

<i>Poor Cow</i> 1967 British film directed by Ken Loach

Poor Cow is a 1967 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Ken Loach and based on Nell Dunn's 1967 novel of the same name. It was Ken Loach's first feature film, after a series of TV productions. The film was re-released in the UK in 2016.

<i>Ooh… You Are Awful</i> 1972 British film by Cliff Owen

Ooh... You Are Awful is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Dick Emery, Derren Nesbitt, Ronald Fraser and Cheryl Kennedy. It is a feature-length adaptation of The Dick Emery Show It was Emery's sole starring film.

<i>Up the Junction</i> (film) 1968 British film by Peter Collinson

Up the Junction is a 1968 British "kitchen sink" drama film, directed by Peter Collinson and starring Dennis Waterman, Suzy Kendall, Adrienne Posta, Maureen Lipman and Liz Fraser. It is based on the 1963 book of the same name by Nell Dunn and was adapted by Roger Smith. The soundtrack was by Manfred Mann. The film followed Ken Loach's BBC TV adaptation of 1965, but returned to the original book. It generated less controversy and impact than the Loach version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role</span> British film industry award

Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan George (actress)</span> English actress (born 1950)

Susan Melody George is an English film and television actress. She is best known for appearing in films such as Straw Dogs (1971) with Dustin Hoffman, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974) with Peter Fonda, and Mandingo (1975) with Ken Norton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Lewis (producer)</span> American film producer

Albert E. Lewis was a Polish-born Broadway and film producer. His family emigrated to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York when he was a boy. He became a vaudeville comedian, then started a partnership producing one-act plays for vaudeville. Around 1930 he moved to Hollywood and worked as a film producer with Paramount, RKO, and MGM until after World War II.

Arthur William Pentelow was an English actor who was best known for playing Henry Wilks in Emmerdale Farm, appearing from the first episode in 1972 until 1991.

<i>Lucky Lady</i> 1975 film by Stanley Donen

Lucky Lady is a 1975 American comedy-drama film directed by Stanley Donen and starring Liza Minnelli, Gene Hackman, Burt Reynolds and Robby Benson. Its story takes place in 1930 during Prohibition in the United States.

<i>Make Mine Mink</i> 1960 British film by Robert Asher

Make Mine Mink is a 1960 British comedy farce film directed by Robert Asher and featuring Terry-Thomas, Athene Seyler, Hattie Jacques and Billie Whitelaw. It was based on the 1958 play Breath of Spring by Peter Coke, and its sequels.

<i>The Adding Machine</i> (film) 1969 British film by Jerome Epstein

The Adding Machine is a 1969 British fantasy comedy drama film produced, written, and directed by Jerome Epstein and starring Milo O'Shea, Phyllis Diller, Billie Whitelaw, Sydney Chaplin, and Raymond Huntley.

<i>Live at the Olympia in Paris</i> 1972 live album by Liza Minnelli

Live at the Olympia in Paris is the second live album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli, released in 1972. It marks her fourth and final release of original material for the A&M Records label and her second live album in her discography, following the release of Live at the London Palladium in 1965.

<i>The Comedy Man</i> 1964 British film by Alvin Rakoff

The Comedy Man is a 1964 British kitchen sink realism drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price and Billie Whitelaw. It depicts the life of a struggling actor in Swinging London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Lamb (actor)</span> British actor (1900–1989)

Charles Lamb was a British stage, film and television actor. Previously an engineer, he made his theatre debut in 1924.

References

  1. ↑ Alexander Walker, Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974, p. 345
  2. ↑ Chapman, L. (2021). "They wanted a bigger, more ambitious film": Film Finances and the American "Runaways" That Ran Away. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 18(2), 176–197 p 189. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2021.0565
  3. ↑ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 361
  4. ↑ "Charlie Bubbles". British Film Institute. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Murphy p.193
  6. ↑ "Charlie Bubbles". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 35 (408): 147. 1 January 1968 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ Adler, Renata (12 February 1968). "Screen: The Quietly Desperate World of 'Charlie Bubbles,' Famous Writer". The New York Times . p. 47.
  8. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 190. ISBN   0586088946.
  9. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 168. ISBN   9780992936440.
  10. ↑ Walker, Alexander (1974). Hollywood England (2nd ed.). Orion Books. p. 352. ISBN   0752857061.
  11. ↑ "Film | Supporting Actress in 1969". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.