Say Hello to Yesterday (1971)

Director:

Alvin Rakoff

Writers:

Peter King
Alvin Rakoff
(more)

Release Date:

2 September 1971 (Mexico)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

She was yesterday. He was today. There are moments when everyone is the same age.

Plot:

An affluent, middle-aged housewife in a failing marriage is romantically pursued by a young man while running errands in London. |

Plot Keywords:

Adultery | Independent Film

Cast

Jean Simmons	...	Woman
Leonard Whiting	...	Boy
Evelyn Laye	...	Woman's mother
Derek Francis	...	Park Keeper
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Estate Agent
James Cossins	...	Policeman
Edward Atienza
Frank Middlemass
Gwen Nelson	...	Char
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carla Challoner	...	Au Pair girl (uncredited)
Constance Chapman	...	Boy's mother (uncredited)
Roy Evans	...	Father's Friend (uncredited)
Harry Fielder	...	Bus Conductor (uncredited)
Jimmy Gardner	...	Balloon seller (uncredited)
Laraine Humphrys	...	Teenager (uncredited)
Ronald Lacey	...	Car Park Attendant (uncredited)
John Lee	...	Woman's husband (uncredited)
Nora Nicholson	...	Aged lady (uncredited)
Susan Penhaligon	...	(uncredited)
Richard Pescud	...	Labor Exchange official (uncredited)
Vanessa Shaw	...	Boutique Assistant (uncredited)
Peter Stephens	...	Businessman (uncredited)
Yves Tighe	...	Child (uncredited)
Jack Woolgar	...	Boy's father (uncredited)

Directed by
Alvin Rakoff

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter King
Ray Mathew		original story
Alvin Rakoff

Produced by
William Hill	....	associate producer
Josef Shaftel	....	producer

Original Music by
Riz Ortolani

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Unsworth

Film Editing by
Ralph Sheldon

Production Design by
Wilfred Shingleton		(as Wilfrid Shingleton)

Art Direction by
Fred Carter

Set Decoration by
Bryan Graves

Costume Design by
Sandy Moss

Makeup Department
Harry Frampton	....	makeup artist
Peter Frampton	....	makeup artist
Patricia McDermott	....	hair stylist (as Pat McDermott)

Production Management
Jack Causey	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anthony Waye	....	assistant director

Art Department
Albert Blackshaw	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Leslie Hammond	....	sound recordist
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer
Don Sharpe	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter MacDonald	....	camera operator
Jim Powell	....	electrical supervisor
Cedric James	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Irene Lamb	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Betty Adamson	....	wardrobe supervisor

Other crew
Jim Brennan	....	location manager
Tony Dean	....	production assistant
Derek Horne	....	assistant to the producer
Arthur Tarry	....	production controller
Maggie Unsworth	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Josef Shaftel Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinerama Releasing UK (1971) (UK) (theatrical)
• Ízaro Films (1975) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1976) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Scorpion Releasing (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Odeon Entertainment (2012) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | USA:GP | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Josef Shaftel Productions Inc.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When they are in the playground, a young girl with who was wearing red tights and a blue coat fell and was taken by her caregiver to first aid. During several subsequent shots, she is seen playing in the background (during the sandbox scene and the slide scene.) Then, she is seen returning from first aid with her caregiver.

Soundtrack:

Hello Happiness Goodbye Misery

"Pick your flowers carefully, my dear..."

May-September romance, this time with the woman in her autumnal years. "Prim and proper" housewife Jean Simmons, apparently stuck in a stale marriage to a stocks analyst near London, is chased madly all over town by gregarious younger man Leonard Whiting, who fancies her. Once she relents and they get to the bedroom, Whiting tells her, "You're Mata Hari, Candy, and Barbarella all rolled into one", and yet we never sense that. Director Alvin Rakoff, who also co-authored the script with Peter King, hands us characters on a meet-cute platter with hardly any exposition. Usually that's fine with me--the less talky introductory material, the better--however, in this case it backfires. We don't see the attraction between these two people, and when Simmons suddenly starts defending her husband and his prowess in bed, it feels like a cheat. Whiting, then a hot commodity following Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet", is convincing as a carefree youth longing for non-conformist kicks, but when the scenario grows solemn--as with a confusingly presented trip to the hospital--Whiting laughably stiffens, becoming melodramatically misty. Rakoff also does the handsome Whiting a disservice in the final act, staging a serious discussion between the lovers while keeping Whiting ridiculously wrapped in a tangerine-colored bed sheet! Simmons does what she can with a sketchy character, but there are few surprises from the actress (who had played this type of role too often before). The age difference is brought up but not examined; Rakoff seems more intrigued by Simmons' distaste in the young man's unemployment status--definitely not a reaction the audience can warm up to. Riz Ortolani's pretty music and Geoffrey Unsworth's cinematography help keep the film interesting and tolerable, but by the end it has become laborious. ** from ****