The Big Flame (19 Feb. 1969)

Dock workers under the threat of redundancy, work day and night in an attempt to keep employed by running the workforce themselves.

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Jim Allen

Stars:

Norman Rossington, Godfrey Quigley, Peter Kerrigan

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Norman Rossington	...	Danny Fowler
Godfrey Quigley	...	Jack Regan
Peter Kerrigan	...	Peter Conner
Ken Jones	...	Freddi Grierson
Daniel Stephens	...	Joe Ryan
Tommy Summers	...	Alec Murphy
Meredith Edwards	...	Logan
Michael Forrest	...	Garfield
John Riley	...	Bruno
Harold Kinsella	...	Andy Fowler
Joan Flood	...	Liz Fowler
Ron Davies	...	Steve Fowler
Terrence Flood	...	Liz Fowler's Son
Roland MacLeod	...	Mr. Weldon
Gerald Young	...	The Fudge

Storyline

Dock workers under the threat of redundancy, work day and night in an attempt to keep employed by running the workforce themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

arrest | strike | court case | redundancy | union

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1969 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Joe Hill"
Sung by Rick Jones

User Reviews

In many ways 50 years before it's time

An attempt to show how a revolution could begin (if it caught on). In the sixties, when this was done, the Soviet Union was still in full bloom and the Americans profited from the "evil in the east" by looking nice in comparison. Today we have seen another side of the American system, the true side, and a film like this could easily be shown on the Internet. In the sixties, this film was very bold indeed and there are still dialogs in it that are surprising even today. I had the privilege to be able to talk to Jim Allen when he visited Locarno with the film Land and Freedom. He told me that he had read everything by Jack London, when I asked him if he had read The Iron Heel. Jim Allen was solid working class and a working class hero as far as I could see. Judging from his appearance nobody would expect that this man was capable to write as fantastic scripts as this one, for instance. He almost looked like a bum, who just had turned up from the gutter. He was so far removed from any shred of vanity that it almost made him disappear. I knew too little of him then to be deeply impressed but I sure am now. This film, looking like a documentary, is truly a remarkable. There are not many films like it.