I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Michael Winner

Writer:

Peter Draper (writer)

Release Date:

11 April 1968 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

He smashed up his desk, gave up a wife, three mistresses and went back to the simple life. Then his troubles really started!

Plot:

Advertising golden boy Andrew Quint is fed up with his fabulously successful life. In very dramatic fashion...

Plot Keywords:

Advertising | Nudity | Oral Sex | Film In Film | Dream Sequence

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Jonathan Lute
Oliver Reed	...	Andrew Quint
Carol White	...	Georgina Elben
Harry Andrews	...	Gerald Sater
Michael Hordern	...	Headmaster
Wendy Craig	...	Louise Quint
Norman Rodway	...	Nicholas
Marianne Faithfull	...	Josie
Frank Finlay	...	Chaplain
Ann Lynn	...	Carla
Harvey Hall	...	Charles Maccabee
Lyn Ashley	...	Susannah
Edward Fox	...	Walter
Basil Dignam
Mark Burns	...	Michael Cornwall

Also Known As:

I'll Never Forget What's 'Isname (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

USA:97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (1967) (cut) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, England, UK

Company:

Scimitar Productions

Trivia:

Often named as the first film to use the word "fuck" in its dialogue (see quotes). Another contender is Ulysses (1967) released the same year.

Quotes:

Jonathan Lute: It's one of the 32 known Vermeers - 80 of which are in America.

Movie Connections:

References The Walking Dead (1936)

Oliver Reed, Orson Welles, and Dolly Birds...

I first saw this movie on Canadian TV on the midnight movie on CJOH and it has stuck in my head ever since. Back then, I enjoyed it for the psychedelic dream sequences, the dolly birds, and the good ol' "frank sexuality." Watching it again on DVD thirty years later, I find it still resonates, but for different reasons. Now, I relate more to Quint's rejection of his entire way of life and the way he wants to be free of it, but ultimately can't escape it.

The Super-8 commercial he makes at the end of the film is still dazzling -- one would think that Michael Winner would have gone on to greater things, but this film is the best thing he ever did. Same goes for Oliver Reed, although he made some good ones in the late '60s and early '70s. Several other Reed-Winner collaborations, THE SYSTEM (a/k/a THE GIRL GETTERS), THE JOKERS, and HANNIBAL BROOKS, are also worth checking out.

Excellent performances by Reed, Orson Welles, Carol White, and Harry Andrews, and a top script by Peter Draper (who also wrote THE SYSTEM).

Favorite bit of dialogue:

QUINT: I'm going to find an honest job.

LUTE: Silly boy. There aren't any.