The Leather Boysis a 1964 Britishdrama filmdirected bySidney J. Furieand starringRita Tushingham,Colin Campbell,andDudley Sutton.The story is set in the very early 60s Ton-Up boys' era, just before therocker subculturein London and features agaymotorcyclist.[4]
| The Leather Boys | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Sidney J. Furie |
| Written by | Gillian Freeman |
| Produced by | Raymond Stross |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gerald Gibbs |
| Edited by | Reginald Beck |
| Music by | Bill McGuffie |
| Distributed by | British Lion-Columbia |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £106,271[1][2][3] |
The film is notable as an early example of a film that violated theHollywoodproduction code,yet was still shown in the United States, as well as being an important film in the genre ofqueer cinema.[5]An example of Britishkitchen sink realism,its treatment of homosexuality was considered daring at the time of its release.
Plot
editWorking-class Cockney teenagers Dot and biker Reggie get married. Their marriage soon turns sour. During an unsuccessful honeymoon at a holiday camp, Reggie becomes alienated from the brassy, self-absorbed Dot. Afterwards, they begin to live increasingly separate lives as Reggie becomes more involved with his biker friends, especially the eccentric Pete. Reggie also loses interest in having sex with Dot.
When Reggie's grandfather dies, Dot merely complains that his support for his bereaved grandmother has stopped them visiting the cinema. Her boorish behaviour at the funeral and her refusal to move in with Reggie's grandmother leads to a major argument. She leaves, and Reggie stays with his grandmother, who will not leave her own house. He brings in Pete, who has been forced to leave his lodgings, to stay as a lodger with her. The two share a bed at her house. Meanwhile, Dot shows an interest in Brian, another biker. The following day, Pete and Reggie drive to the seaside. Reggie wants them to chat up a couple of girls, but Pete shows no interest.
Reggie intends to return to Dot, who has hatched a plan to get him back by pretending to be pregnant. Dot is sitting with Brian when she tells Reggie of her "pregnancy". Believing he cannot be the father, Reggie accuses Brian, and the two fight. Dot visits the house of Reggie's grandmother and learns that he is sharing a bed with Pete. She taunts them, calling them "queers". Reggie is disturbed by this, and asks Pete to deny that he is homosexual, but Pete avoids answering.
The bikers organise a race from London to Edinburgh and back in which Reggie, Pete and Brian all take part. Dot rides with Brian. When Brian's bike breaks down, Reggie carries Dot on his. Dot admits she is not pregnant. The two start to rekindle their relationship. When they get back, Pete manages to separate Reggie from Dot, taking him to the pub. They come back to their room drunk. When Pete passes out, Reggie sits up thinking. The following morning, he decides to return to Dot. Pete gets upset, and says he can't understand why Reggie would want to return to Dot because they get on so much better. He says they should go to America together. Reggie says that he needs a woman. He returns to Dot, but discovers her in bed with Brian. In despair, he meets with Pete and says he wishes to leave for America as soon as possible. Pete says he can get them passage working on a ship.
While Pete is arranging things, he leaves Reggie in a pub in Silvertown near the Royal Docks, which turns out to be a gay pub. Reggie realises when one of the clientele starts chatting him up. When Pete enters, they all recognise him, and Reggie suddenly understands that Pete is gay. He leaves.
Cast
edit- Rita Tushinghamas Dot
- Colin Campbellas Reggie
- Dudley Suttonas Pete
- Gladys Hensonas Gran
- Avice Landoneas Reggie's Mother
- Lockwood Westas Reggie's Father
- Betty Marsdenas Dot's Mother
- Martin Matthews as Uncle Arthur
- Johnny Briggsas Brian
- James Chase as Les
- Geoffrey Dunn as Mr. Lunnis
- Dandy Nicholsas Mrs. Stanley
- Carmel McSharryas bus conductress
Production
editThe film is based on a 1961 novel commissioned by the Londonliterary agentand publisherAnthony Blond,[6]who suggested thatGillian Freemanwrite about a "Romeo and Romeo in the South London suburbs".[7][8]Freeman published the novel using the pseudonym Eliot George,[6]but she is credited under her own name for the screenplay "based on the novel of Eliot George". The novel is explicit about the sexual relationship between Reggie and Pete, and about the possibility that Dot is pregnant by another man. It also portrays their gang as a criminal network, and ends with a botched robbery. The plot was changed considerably for the film, in which only Pete is gay,[5]and there is no criminal activity.
Rita Tushingham said[citation needed]much of the dialogue was improvised after the actors complained that the script "was nothing like how the youth living in London spoke at the time".
Locations include theAce Cafe[9]and the Tidal Basin Tavern inSilvertown,East London.
The 27th February 1964 edition of UK magazine, Motor Cycle reported thatTriumph Engineeringrefused to supply motorcycles for the film in view of the subject matter. Instead, the magazine reported that used motorcycles were utilised, the film "thereby, probably, gaining in authenticity".
Critical reception
editKinematograph Weeklycalled the film a "money maker" at the British box office for 1964[10]and in a review said the film was "an excursion into the coarse world of 'ton-up' boys and 'caffs' and how one young man's marriage never gets into gear. The story... is sordid and at times very noisy, but the drama fades away to a weak, inconclusive conclusion".[11]
InFilm QuarterlyJohn Seelye said: "The attempt to use the cycles symbolically, and to jazz up the visuals in the race to Edinburgh, comes off lamely; it is only in the interiors, where he can play the characters against the seedy homeyness of working-class England, that Furie comes near a style".[12]
Varietyreviewed the film as: "Salty mean-street melodrama, delivered with vigor that helps to disguise a flabby story-line."[13]
Peter Harcourt wrote inSight and Sound:"By the end of the film we are left with the sense of having taken part in most personal experience. It is this personal quality, this sense of intimacy, which, finally, is the achievement of Sidney Furie as a director."[14]
Leslie Halliwellopined: "Sharply-observed slice of low life which now seems quite dated, the central figures no longer being of the ‘heroic’ interest given them at the time. Technically the film is tediously and fashionably flashy".[15]
TheRadio Times Guide to Filmsgave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Nearly 50 years on, it's almost impossible to see why this was once regarded as an unacceptably frank insight into the gay lifestyle. Colin Campbell is so hopelessly out of his depth as the young newlywed wrestling with his sexual identity that not even the excellence of Rita Tushingham and Dudley Sutton can salvage what were intended to be powerful scenes. Sidney J. Furie's film is now something of a quaint period piece, full of techniques borrowed from theFrench New Wave.The end result is fussy and flash, but the wedding and theButlin'ssequences are priceless relics of 1960s life ".[16]
References
edit- ^Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360
- ^Alexander Walker,Hollywood, England,Stein and Day, 1974 p250
- ^Hill, William John (1985).CLASS, SEXUALITY AND THE*BRITISH CINEMA 1956-63(PDF)(Thesis). University of York. p. 62.
- ^"The Leather Boys".British Film Institute Collections Search.Retrieved19 October2023.
- ^abRaymond Murray,Images in the dark: an encyclopedia of gay and lesbian film and video,TLA Publications, 1994,ISBN1-880707-01-2,p.414
- ^abThe Leather Boys
- ^Review of The Leather Boys (Gillian Freeman) by Martin Foreman
- ^Anthony Blond,Jew Made in England,Timewell Press,2004,ISBN1-85725-200-4,p.173
- ^Movie Review – Leather Boys, The – eFilmCritic
- ^Altria, Bill (17 December 1964)."British Films Romp Home - Fill First Five Places".Kinematograph Weekly.p. 9.
- ^"The Leather Boys".Kine Weekly.560(2938): 11. 13 August 1953.
- ^Seelye, John (Spring 1966). "The Leather Boys".Film Quarterly.19(3): 43.doi:10.2307/1210225.JSTOR1210225.
- ^"The Leather Boys".variety.233(11): 6. 5 February 1965.
- ^Harcourt, Peter (Spring 1964). "The Leather Boys".Sight and Sound.33(2): 94–95.
- ^Halliwell, Leslie (1989).Halliwell's Film Guide(7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 588.ISBN0-586-08894-6.
- ^Radio Times Guide to Films(18th ed.). London:Immediate Media Company.2017. p. 532.ISBN9780992936440.