Strictly for the Birds

Last updated

Strictly for the Birds
"Strictly for the Birds".jpg
Original British quad poster
Directed by Vernon Sewell
Written byTony Hawes
Produced by E.M. Smedley-Aston
Starring Tony Tanner
Joan Sims
Graham Stark
Cinematography Reginald H. Wyer
Edited by Peter Taylor
Music by Johnny Douglas
Production
company
Distributed by Rank Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • 29 March 1964 (1964-03-29)(UK)
Running time
63 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Strictly for the Birds is a 1964 British second feature [1] comedy film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Tony Tanner, Joan Sims and Graham Stark. [2] It was written by Tony Hawes. Terry Blessing seems to be having a lucky day, winning at gambling, until a woman with whom he had an assignation six years previously phones him and claims her child is his son.

Contents

Plot

Terry Blessing creates a gambling system involving continual use of a ready reckoner. Although his system is very successful, he is ultimately robbed of his winnings by a well-bred young lady whom he accidentally meets after trying to impress her. The minor compensation, of regaining his original stake on a raffle, is also denied him, as it's merely the same amount that he owes to another.

Production

The film was made at Beaconsfield Studios for distribution by the Rank Organisation. Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film write that the film was "an apparent homage to its contemporary, Sparrows Can't Sing [1963]", also set in the East End of London. [1]

Sewell said:

The studio was gonna close, but they had a free six weeks, and they had this young man who they thought would be a star. And this very funny comedy was written and they said, "Could I direct now and get it finished within the time?" I said, "Of course I can." And it was made, and there was a very funny thing happened, there was a very funny scene about a firework shop. A boy dropped some matches in a firework shop and this all blows up, there were some very, very funny sequences in it. And we got all the fireworks free from a big firework firm and everything. I showed them stills and they were delighted. Then I said, "Would you like to come and see the movie?" And they saw it, and next day I had a writ... to stop the film. Because they said the firework trade is fighting to keep alive and you're showing in the film just what we say can't happen, you'll do it a lot of damage. I said, "Tell them to go and jump in the sea!" But the Rank lawyers apparently said, "No" and I had to cut the scene out, which is rather stupid because somebody then appeared in black face with no excuse at all! [3]

Music

The film's title song, "Strictly for the Birds", was recorded by Birmingham pop group Pat Wayne and the Beachcombers, and was released on Columbia Records DB 7262.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Rather devoid of anything in the way of an original idea (the title song, with its visual complement of pigeons, is, for instance, irrelevant except as an hommage to Sparrows Can't Sing), this juvenile lark has, at least, the saving grace of brevity. The good-for-nothing Terry and his domineering sister are unsympathetically over-played by Tony Tanner and Joan Sims; but as a farce, made on a low budget and with a basis of reality (however unfair to the working classes), the film has some quite intriguing settings (notably the bookshop and the tenement flat), and Graham Stark gives amusing support as a talented old busker. Vernon Sewell's direction is routine." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Sims</span> English actress (1930–2001)

Irene Joan Marion Sims was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the Carry On franchise, appearing in 24 of the films.

<i>Doctor in the House</i> (film) 1954 British film by Ralph Thomas

Doctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Kenneth More, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston and James Robertson Justice. It was produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the 1952 novel Doctor in the House by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.

<i>Sparrows Cant Sing</i> 1963 British film by Joan Littlewood

Sparrows Can't Sing is a 1963 British kitchen sink comedy, the only film that Joan Littlewood directed. It starred James Booth and Barbara Windsor. It was written by Stephen Lewis based on his 1960 play Sparrers Can't Sing, first performed at Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in the Theatre Royal Stratford East. The producer was Donald Taylor.

<i>Ghost Ship</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film by Vernon Sewell

Ghost Ship is a 1952 British second feature thriller film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Dermot Walsh and Hazel Court. It was written by Sewell and Philip Thornton. This was one of four attempts by Sewell to adapt and film the Pierre Mills and Celia de Vilyars Grand Guignol stage play L'Angoisse.

<i>Brandy for the Parson</i> 1952 British film by John Eldridge

Brandy for the Parson is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Eldridge and starring Kenneth More, Charles Hawtrey, James Donald and Jean Lodge. It was written by Walter Meade, John Dighton and Alfred Shaughnessy based on a short story by Geoffrey Household from Tales of Adventurers (1952). The title is a reference to the refrain of the poem "A Smuggler's Song" by Rudyard Kipling.

<i>We Joined the Navy</i> 1962 British film by Wendy Toye

We Joined the Navy is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Wendy Toye and starring Kenneth More, Lloyd Nolan, Joan O'Brien, Derek Fowlds, Graham Crowden, Esma Cannon and John Le Mesurier. Produced by Daniel M. Angel, it was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by John Winton, a former Royal Navy lieutenant commander.

<i>Strongroom</i> (film) 1962 British film by Vernon Sewell

Strongroom is a 1962 British 'B' crime drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Derren Nesbitt, Colin Gordon and Ann Lynn. A group of criminals lock two bank employees in a safe during a robbery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vernon Sewell</span> British actor and film director (1903–2001)

Vernon Campbell Sewell was a British film director, writer, producer and, briefly, an actor.

<i>Burke & Hare</i> (1972 film) 1972 British horror film by Vernon Sewell

Burke & Hare is a 1972 horror film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Derren Nesbitt, Harry Andrews, and Glynn Edwards. It is based on the true story of the Burke and Hare murders, and was the last film to be directed by Sewell.

<i>Johnny, Youre Wanted</i> 1956 British film by Vernon Sewell

Johnny, You're Wanted is a 1956 British crime second feature film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring John Slater and Alfred Marks. It was written by Frank Driscoll and Michael Leighton based on the 1953 BBC television series of the same name which also starred Slater. The film features strongwoman Joan Rhodes performing her stage act.

<i>The Golden Link</i> 1954 British film by Charles Saunders

The Golden Link is a 1954 British police drama film directed by Charles Saunders, starring André Morell, Patrick Holt, Thea Gregory and Jack Watling. It was produced by Guido Coen under his Kenilworth Film Productions, featuring a screenplay by Allan MacKinnon and soundtrack by Eric Spear. The story concerns the death of a young woman, having fallen to her demise inside an apartment building. A policeman neighbour, Superintendent Blake, conducts an unofficial investigation, which initially seems to implicate his own daughter in a murder plot.

<i>The Man in the Back Seat</i> 1961 British film by Vernon Sewell

The Man in the Back Seat is a 1961 British second feature crime film, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Derren Nesbitt and Keith Faulkner. It was written by Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice based on an Edgar Wallace story.

<i>A Matter of Choice</i> 1963 British film by Vernon Sewell

A Matter of Choice is a 1963 British black and white drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Malcolm Gerard, Michael Davis, Anthony Steel, Jeanne Moody and Ballard Berkeley. The screenplay was by Paul Ryder based on an original story by Sewell and Derren Nesbitt.

<i>Uneasy Terms</i> 1948 British film

Uneasy Terms is a 1948 British crime thriller film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Michael Rennie, Moira Lister and Faith Brook. It is based on the 1946 novel of the same name by Peter Cheyney.

<i>Radio Cab Murder</i> 1954 British film by Vernon Sewell

Radio Cab Murder is a 1954 British second feature crime film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Jimmy Hanley, Lana Morris and Sonia Holm. It was made by the independent Eros Films.

<i>The Dark Light</i> (film) 1951 British film by Vernon Sewell

The Dark Light is a 1951 British second feature thriller film directed and written by Vernon Sewell and starring Albert Lieven, David Greene and Norman Macowan.

<i>Johnny on the Spot</i> 1954 British film by Maclean Rogers

Johnny on the Spot is a 1954 British 'B' crime drama film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Hugh McDermott, Elspet Gray and Paul Carpenter. It was written by Rogers based on the 1953 novel Paid in Full by Michael Cronin.

<i>Partners in Crime</i> (1961 film) 1961 British film by Peter Duffell

Partners in Crime is a 1961 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Peter Duffell and starring Bernard Lee, Moira Redmond and John Van Eyssen. The screenplay was by Robert Banks Stewart, based on the 1918 Edgar Wallace novel The Man Who Knew. It is part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios from 1960 to 1965.

<i>Dangerous Voyage</i> 1954 British film by Vernon Sewell

Dangerous Voyage is a 1954 British crime thriller B film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring William Lundigan, Naomi Chance and Vincent Ball. It was written by Sewell and Julian Ward and was distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated in the UK, and in the United States by Lippert Pictures.

<i>Rogues Yarn</i> 1957 British film by Vernon Sewell

Rogue's Yarn is a 1957 British second feature crime drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Nicole Maurey, Derek Bond and Elwyn Brook-Jones. It was written by Sewell and Ernle Bradford, and distributed by the independent Eros Films.

References

  1. 1 2 Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 132. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "Strictly for the Birds". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  3. ↑ Fowler, Roy (8 July 1994). "Vernon Sewell". British Entertainment History Project.
  4. ↑ "Strictly for the Birds". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 31 (360): 60. 1 January 1964 – via ProQuest.
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.