A Place to Go (1963)

In 1960s Britain, a young man employed by a cigarette factory is tired of his working class status and joins a gang planning to rob the factory warehouse.

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Michael Fisher (novel), Michael Relph (screenplay)

Stars:

Rita Tushingham, Michael Sarne, Bernard Lee

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rita Tushingham	...	Catherine Donovan
Michael Sarne	...	Ricky Flint (as Mike Sarne)
Bernard Lee	...	Matt Flint
Doris Hare	...	Lil Flint
John Slater	...	Jack Ellerman
Barbara Ferris	...	Betsy
David Andrews	...	Jim
William Marlowe	...	Charlie Batey
Roy Kinnear	...	Bunting
Michael Wynne	...	Pug
Jerry Verno	...	Nobby Knowles

Storyline

Amidst the pub sing-songs and bombsites and with slums giving way to high-rise flats, life in Bethnal Green is changing for the Flints. Dad may decide to quit the docks and their daughter wants a new home with her husband and expected baby. Son Ricky is dissatisfied with his lot and equally eager to get away. Involved with a planned robbery of the cigarette factory where he works, his life becomes even more complicated when he gets involved with quirky Catherine.

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Plot Keywords:

london england | 1960s | bombed house | condemned building | cigarette factory | 

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Taglines:

... the punch-up romance of the year ...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1963 (UK)

Also Known As:

Bethnal Green

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP155,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Excalibur Films, British Lion Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of several British films of the early 1960s to be kept on the shelf for a long time after filming was completed; the film was made in 1962, but not released until 1964. It was released less than a month before Basil Dearden's next film, "Woman Of Straw", which he made a year later.

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Goofs

When Ricky's brother-in-law's lorry is on fire, Ricky looks out of his bedroom window which is at the front of the house. Yet, in the closing scene there is no suitable place that the lorry could have been parked. There is no waste ground visible, just a long street.

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Connections

Featured in Welsh Greats: Doris Hare (2012)

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Soundtracks

Out and About
Music and Lyrics by Charles Blackwell
In Collaboration with Michael Sarne (as Mike Sarne)

User Reviews

When kitchen sink meets crime

A PLACE TO GO is an odd little blend of the classic British kitchen sink social drama and the more old-fashioned crime thriller that was popular a decade before and still doing the rounds even in the early 1960s, although this is very much a last-gasp attempt with the burgeoning popularity of the spy genre soon wiping away the trend for safe cracking and night time robberies.

It works better as a kitchen sink film than a crime thriller, because the heist itself, although the best part of the movie, is dealt with very hurriedly and doesn't take up much of the running time. Instead the viewer is treated to a slice-of-life drama involving a poor working class family presided over by Bernard Lee, cast against type as a street performer with a Houdini-style breaking chain act!

Pop star Michael Sarne is the idealistic hero seeking to escape from his drab existence. He hooks up with the inimitable Rita Tushingham, who proves to be more than a match for his wiles as her character is full of life and rather independent. She's the best actor in the whole thing, certainly showing up Sarne as a rather bland leading man (at least we get the likes of John Slater and Roy Kinnear who are rather more fun in delivering mannered supporting characters). The feisty romance scenes are rather well handled, although the pacing is a little slow and the crime elements feel rather unnecessary and tacked on to the story. Still, it's a perfectly watchable film for lovers of the era.