Tommy (1975)

A psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult because of that.

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Pete Townshend (album), Pete Townshend (story),

Stars:

Oliver Reed, Ann-Margret, Roger Daltrey

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oliver Reed	...	Frank Hobbs
Ann-Margret	...	Nora Walker
Roger Daltrey	...	Tommy Walker
Elton John	...	Local Lad
Eric Clapton	...	The Preacher
John Entwistle	...	Himself
Keith Moon	...	Uncle Ernie
Paul Nicholas	...	Cousin Kevin
Jack Nicholson	...	The Specialist
Robert Powell	...	Captain Walker
Pete Townshend	...	Himself
Tina Turner	...	The Acid Queen
Arthur Brown	...	The Priest
Victoria Russell	...	Sally Simpson
Ben Aris	...	Reverend Simpson

Storyline

Nora Walker is told that her British fighter pilot husband is missing in action and presumed killed in World War II. On V.E. Day, Nora gives birth to their son, who she names Tommy. While Tommy is an adolescent, Nora marries Frank, a shifty camp counselor. Shortly thereafter, Tommy suffers an emotionally traumatic experience associated with his father and step-father, which, based on things told to him at that time, results in him becoming deaf, dumb and blind, a situation which several people exploit for their own pleasure. As Nora tries several things to bring Tommy out of his psychosomatic disabilities, Tommy, now a young man, happens upon pinball as a stimulus. Playing by intuition, Tommy becomes a pinball master, which in turn makes him, and by association Nora and Frank, rich and famous. Nora literally shatters Tommy to his awakening, which ultimately leads to both the family's rise and downfall as people initially try to emulate Tommy's path then rebel against it.

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Plot Keywords:

pinball | murder | holiday camp | based on rock opera | surrealism | 

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Taglines:

Your senses will never be the same

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1975 (UK)

Also Known As:

Tommy by 'The Who'

Filming Locations:

Cumbria, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 1,152,866 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Stigwood Organization (RSO), Hemdale Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Quintaphonic (5 channel Stereo) Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were several new songs written especially for the movie that weren't on the original album. Among those were "Champagne," "Mother and Son," and "TV Studio." Also, a couple of songs were rewritten with either new lyrics ("Pinball Wizard," "We're Not Gonna Take It," and "Do You Think it's All Right?"), or new titles ("1951" was originally called "1921" on the original release of "Tommy").

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Goofs

Visible during "Acid Queen."

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Quotes

Nora Walker Hobbs: What about the boy? What about the boy? What about the boy? He saw it all!
Frank Hobbs: He didn't see it, he didn't hear it, he will say nothing to no one.

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Connections

Featured in The Lady with the Torch (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Prologue-1945"
Written and Performed by Pete Townshend
Opening brass Performed by John Entwistle

User Reviews

It helps to have an appreciation for Ken Russell, not Pete Townsend

This is a Ken Russell movie, make no mistake. It is relentlessly twisted, ugly, savage (for a sometimes humorous effect) and trippy. Russell may be the oldest flower child of all time. Surreal plot concerns a deaf-dumb-and-blind boy becoming the new Messiah to a pinball-crazed population, and the film has been accused of being too literal to The Who's rock opera source material. In this age of lavish music videos, it has also been tagged as archaic. Though nobody seems to care anymore how a film was perceived in its time, I would say the picture still succeeds in doing what was originally intended: shake an audience up with freaky visuals and propulsive music (nicely arranged). It also does something else: creates actual characters from the music, a plus due in part to the fine acting of Ann-Margret as Tommy's glamorous mother, Roger Daltrey as Tommy, Oliver Reed as Tommy's stepfather (Reed is hammy but quite game, while the role is designed as both a villain and a hero), and Tina Turner, an extremely scary presence as the Acid Queen. "Tommy" has some bummer scenes, and Russell's love for degradation occasionally made me wince, but it is a real cinematic experience. Whether it involves or alienates the viewer depends on their appreciation for the English director's constant penchant for the bizarre. **1/2 from ****