Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Karel Reisz

Writers:

Alan Sillitoe (novel)
Alan Sillitoe (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 April 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Saturday night you have your fling at life...and Sunday morning you face up to it!

Plot:

A rebellious, hard-living factory worker juggles relationships with two women, one of whom is married to another man but pregnant with his child.

Plot Keywords:

Abortion | Day In Title | Kitchen Sink Realism | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Awards:

Won 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Albert Finney	...	Arthur Seaton
Shirley Anne Field	...	Doreen
Rachel Roberts	...	Brenda
Hylda Baker	...	Aunt Ada
Norman Rossington	...	Bert
Bryan Pringle	...	Jack
Robert Cawdron	...	Robboe
Edna Morris	...	Mrs. Bull
Elsie Wagstaff	...	Mrs. Seaton
Frank Pettitt	...	Mr. Seaton
Avis Bunnage	...	Blousy Woman
Colin Blakely	...	Loudmouth
Irene Richmond	...	Doreen's Mother
Louise Dunn	...	Betty
Anne Blake	...	Civil Defence Officer

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Hong Kong:I | UK:PG (re-rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

ABC Cinema, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Woodfall Film Productions

Trivia:

Harry Saltzman's original choice for Arthur Seaton was Peter O'Toole.

Quotes:

Jack: You're too much of a troublemaker, you should take things as they come and enjoy life.
Arthur Seaton: I do enjoy life, just because I'm not like you don't think I don't.
Jack: I'll see you sometime.
Arthur Seaton: Yeah.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Harry Saltzman: Showman (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Let's Slip Away

Working Class Hero

Albert Finney is a rebel without a cause in this Kitchen Sink entry from 1960 that depicts the mind numbing existence of the British factory worker. Seaton is a hard worker but also a smart ass that rubs his work supervisor ( who calls him a Red ) and neighbors the wrong way. He is also sleeping with a co-workers wife.

Albert Finney as the surly Seaton is uncomfortably excellent. His bitter tone and attitude cuts like a power saw. Sooner or later his arrogance will be rewarded and you can't wait. He does display a tender side occasionally with Brenda the married woman but the softness is soon washed away as he rails against the system and his predicament. He is also a world class beer drinker which makes him even more unpleasant as he insults pub patrons and takes a nasty fall down a flight of stairs, only to lie there smiling. Pain is a major source of his existence and rowdy nights out like this serve in a perverse way to blunt it.

Director Karel Reisz moves the storyline along at a rapid pace capturing the grim existence of row house living and deafening factory work. It is a world of gray skies and defeated characters trying to make the best of what they have. They are not the "Happy Breed" of generations past.

Made in the first year of the tumultuous decade that changed the world forever Night is pretty tame by today's standards. But in it's day it was condemned by the Catholic Church for its blatant immorality. One might venture that it had an influence on John Lennon who wrote "Working Class Hero" and on many occasions was witnessed to act like the unctuous Seaton in his life. It might also be argued that Seaton was a prototype for the futuristic angry young man Alex the Droog in Clockwork Orange.

Betty Ann Field, Hylda Baker and Norman Rossington make up a convincing supporting cast in ably assisting Reisz in the world he depicts. Rachel Roberts is outstanding as the tragic Brenda. Smitten with Arthur and doomed by her predicament she perfectly conveys her situation with a tawdry lack of glamor.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning may be an unpleasant film but it is a powerful and important one.