Melody (1971)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Waris Hussein

Writer:

Alan Parker (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

21 April 1971 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A tender love story for everyone who was ever ten years old.

Plot:

Two youngsters declare to their parents that they want to get married. Not sometime in the future but as soon as possible...

Plot Keywords:

Children | Childhood | Child Smoking Cigarette | Parenthood | Love

Cast

Mark Lester	...	Daniel
Tracy Hyde	...	Melody
Jack Wild	...	Ornshaw
Colin Barrie	...	Chambers
Billy Franks	...	Burgess
Ashley Knight	...	Stacey
Craig Marriott	...	Dadds
William Vanderpuye	...	O'Leary
Peter Walton	...	Fensham
Camille Davis	...	Muriel
Dawn Hope	...	Maureen
Kay Skinner	...	Peggy
Lesley Roach	...	Rhoda
Sheila Steafel	...	Mrs. Latimer
Roy Kinnear	...	Mr. Perkins

Also Known As:

S.W.A.L.K.
To Have Somebody (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Finland:S | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Archbishop Temple school, Lambeth Road, Lambeth, London, England, UK

Company:

Hemdale Productions

Trivia:

Mark Lester and Jack Wild had previously appeared together as Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger in Oliver! (1968), the Oscar winning musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic.

Quotes:

Ornshaw: Some people are winners and some people are losers.
Daniel: Who says who's gonna be what?
Ornshaw: Don't ask me, that's all done before we get on this earth. I mean, it's him up there. He says, "You, you're gonna be red-hot at the triple jump, and you, you're gonna be bloody useless!"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sekai no chûshin de, ai o sakebu (2004)

Soundtrack:

Give Your Best

What to say?

What to say about this gem that has not been said before?

That it was written by Alan Parker, before he was recognized as a world famous screenwriter/director? And that even then, it is a movie that has unjustly remained without being re-released.

No, that's just theory. It is the feelings evoked that matter.

I watched this movie once, as it played in an Argentinian TV channel at a time when there were only 4 TV channels. I probably watched it because of a recommendation from my father, who during my forming years, had gained my respect for introducing me to Spielberg in films such as Close Encounters and Raider of the Lost Ark. My guess is that I was probably about the same age of the main characters when I sat in front of the set.

I remember also the following day at school, as all the boys and girls that had watched it would whisper about it. Girls would probably whisper if it could happen to them, too... if those stupid boys would wise up one day. We boys... we were not willing to admit we had seen and liked a "love" story -- a chick film. As such, we had to make fun of it. But deep down, all of us could tell... we could tell when we looked at each others' eyes that we were lying. That this movie had told perhaps our own story of first love and touched us in a way perhaps no one else had before, in a way we would not forget, we could not forget.

I am 33 now, I grew to work in the TV and film industry both in Argentina and abroad and have watched literally thousands of films since. It is a testament to this film that after watching it only once, I not only remember the film fondly, but that some scenes are still etched in my mind: The Frere Jacques scene as the two main characters talk about how they feel.... a scene that has no dialog, and it is just played with music and visual narration. The farcical view on authority and that funny ending, which could be called a teenage The Graduate.

I have since been looking in vain for a copy of this movie or for the chance to watch it again and again and again.

--- Update: I found it. In Argentina, this movie is now finally being redistributed, by a small private company. Alas, albeit it is on DVD, the copy is not a very good one, with muted colors and a somewhat jittery transfer.