The Knowledge (1979) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Bob Brooks

Writers:

Jack Rosenthal (writer)
Bob Brooks (original idea)

Release Date:

1979 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Four men attempt "The Knowledge" examination to qualify as London taxi drivers.

Plot Keywords:

London Taxi | Taxicab | Taxi Driver | Independent Film

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Nigel Hawthorne	...	Mr. Burgess
Mick Ford	...	Chris Matthews
Kim Taylforth	...	Janet
Jonathan Lynn	...	Ted Margolies
David Ryall	...	Titanic
Michael Elphick	...	Gordon Weller
Maureen Lipman	...	Brenda Weller
Lesley Joseph	...	Val
June Watson	...	Lilian
Philippa Howell	...	Miss Stavely
Gary Holton	...	Eddie Hairstyle
Natalie Ann King	...	Margaret Louise
Nigel Humphreys	...	Harry
Ivan Steward	...	Cliff
Tim Stern	...	Stan

Runtime:

89 min | Netherlands:78 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Euston Films

Quotes:

Gordon Weller: Ignorance is bliss. My wife is completely blissful about the whole thing.

Soundtrack:

The Knowledge

How do you get from Manor House station to Gibson Square?

I was surprised to see so few comments on what I think is an excellent play, by the very talented Jack Rosenthal.

Non British, and even non-Londoners are unlikely to find much of interest, but anyone who knows the capital well will find this an enjoyable little film.

It concerns a group of Londoners who are all on the same 'knowledge' course, the gruelling test set by the Metropolitan Police which all cabbies must take before they get their coveted 'green badge' or taxi driving licence.

The test involves learning every street and public building within six miles of central London - a massive feat of memory that only 30 per cent of applicants manage to pass. The students must spend every waking hour cycling or motorbiking around London so that they know the city back to front.

It is this challenge that provides the dramatic tension and much of the humour of the play, as the test begins to take over every aspect of the students' lives, and leads their wives and girlfriends to despair.

The tour de force is by the late Nigel Hawthorne, who plays 'Dracula', the extremely strict test examiner, who behaves rudely and oddly to try to simulate the difficulties the drivers will experience when in their taxis.

Mr Rosenthal's light touch on the big issues of life is much missed in our present era of earnest, heavy handed drama, and the film is also a delightful period piece showing a London which in many respects has not changed to this day, but in other respects could almost be in the nineteenth century.