The Guest (1963)

While renovating his house in London, Aston, out of pity, lodges a homeless man, but Aston's brother taunts and harasses the cranky old bum.

Director:

Clive Donner

Writer:

Harold Pinter (play)

Stars:

Alan Bates, Donald Pleasence, Robert Shaw

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Alan Bates	...	Mick
Donald Pleasence	...	Mac Davies / Bernard Jenkins
Robert Shaw	...	Aston

Storyline

Aston (Robert Shaw), a quiet, reserved man, lives alone in a top-floor cluttered room of a small abandoned house in a poor London district. He befriends and takes in Mac Davies (Donald Pleasence), an old derelict who has been fired from a menial job in a café. In time, Aston offers him a job as caretaker of the house. Aston's brother, Mick (Sir Alan Bates), a taunting sadist, harasses the derelict when his brother is away, countermanding his orders. Eventually, Aston, irritated by the cantankerous old man, puts him out.

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Plot Keywords:

london england | 1960s | homeless man | boarding house | home renovation | 

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Taglines:

Based on the play 'The Caretaker'.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 April 1964 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

The Guest

Filming Locations:

31 Downs Road, Hackney, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP30,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caretaker Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Apparently, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Leslie Caron, Peter Hall, Peter Sellers, Harry Saltzman, and Noël Coward were amongst those who helped provide financial backing for this extremely low budget production. With all of the actors, actresses, director, and writer on deferred payment, this cost only thirty thousand dollars.

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Quotes

Mick: I could turn this place into a penthouse. For instance this room. This room could have been the kitchen. Right size, nice window, sun comes in. I'd have I'd have teal-blue, copper and parchment linoleum squares. I'd have those colours re-echoed in the walls. I'd offset the kitchen units with charcoal-grey worktops. Plenty of room for cupboards for the crockery. We'd have a small wall cupboard, a large wall cupboard, a corner wall cupboard with revolving shelves. You shouldn't be short of ...

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Connections

Referenced in This Week in Britain: The Caretaker (1963)

User Reviews

Futility trebled

What is the point of anything ? Weary, stale, flat, unprofitable.Three aspects of one persona. That is the point and message of this play and movie. If we could get down to Sidcup, get our papers, discover our identity, it would help. We could then finish the shed, and get all the rooms in the house decorated, and then rent them out. But it doesn't seem likely. We go round in circles in our dingy little car. Our current situation is just not our bag. End of story. Gripping masterpiece, not equalled by anything else from Pinter, nor by the actors. In fact, an acting masterclass, provided by the script. Once seen, never forgotten. No sex, no drugs, and any violence is merely virtual. Wonderful. But dated. Like Hamlet.