British '60s Cinema Trivia Quiz

Answer: Unplanned pregnancies

One of the main social changes in the 1960s was the development of the Pill. 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning', 'Alfie' and 'Up the Junction' all feature abortions (illegal until 1967) whilst Jo in 'A Taste of Honey' decides to have her baby.

Racial tension feature in films such as 'Sapphire' and 'Flame in the Streets' (made not long after the Notting Hill riots), and one of the most underrated films in the '60s, 'The Angry Silence', examines the aftermath of a wildcat strike. The generation gap features in some fashion in too many '60s films to mention.

Answer: Motorcycling

The film title refers to the leathers they wear whilst riding their bikes. The Ace Cafe is on the North Circular Road in north-west London; it opened just before the Second World War but had its heyday in the 1950s/early 1960s when it became a meeting place for bikers. It closed in 1969 but reopened in 1997.

Strangely, in the book Pete (called 'Dick' in the book) does not even have a bike at the start of the book and only becomes involved with the Ace Cafe due to Reggie's influence, whilst in the film both are serious enthusiasts from the start.

Clips from 'The Leather Boys' feature in the background of the video of The Smiths' 'Girlfriend in a Coma'; Morrissey is a notable fan of many of the so-called 'Kitchen Sink' films.

Answer: Scriptwriter

Billy constantly makes up stories, or at least exaggerates wildly, and inevitably gets caught out in his fantasies. He makes everyone believe that he has secured a job as a scriptwriter to a TV comedian, Danny Boon, when in fact he doesn't even know him and the best he gets is a vague invite to pop in and see Boon when next in London.

He works as a undertaker's clerk, but plans to leave to fulfil his dreams, although of course they never amount to anything. Liz (Julie Christie), whom he hasn't seen for a while, asks him how his book is coming along, to which Billy replies that it's all done and will be published "next Christmas". When she asks him to count to five and tell the truth, he admits that he hasn't even started writing it yet!

One thing he has done though is co-write a song - 'Twisterella' - that is played at the local dance hall. In the original novel, he also has a weekly turn at a local pub as a stand up comedian, although in the film he hasn't reached these dizzy heights...

Answer: Paul's grandfather

He played Paul McCartney's grandfather, who accompanies them on their trip down to London to appear in a TV show. He is constantly referred to as a 'little old man' and in fact one of the suggested titles for the film was 'What Little Old Man?' as this is one of the first lines in the film.

A running joke throughout as he is introduced to new people is the reply 'He's very clean isn't he?'. This is possibly a reference to his fame as Albert Steptoe in 'Steptoe and Son', where is constantly referred to as 'a dirty old man'.

Answer: Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter was already well known for plays such as 'The Birthday Party' and 'The Caretaker'. The themes of 'The Servant' - power relations, class tensions - were perfectly suited to Pinter's preoccupations. He went on to work with Losey - who was also fascinated by the English class system - in two other films, 'Accident' and 'The Go-Between', as well as adapting his own plays for the cinema.

Alan Ayckbourn's successes in the theatre came a bit later in the 1970s. Shelagh Delaney wrote the play 'A Taste of Honey' which became one of the iconic British 'New Wave' films of the early 1960s, whilst Joe Orton's plays were less easily adapted for the screen, although his life became the subject of a successful film in the 1980s, 'Prick Up Your Ears' starring Gary Oldman.

Answer: Photographer

David Hemmings plays Thomas, a fashionable photographer who believes he has inadvertently photographed a murder. Although it is difficult to imagine the character as anything other than a photographer, Antonioni himself originally had a painter in mind.

The character was allegedly based on David Bailey, whose 1964 'Box of Pin Ups', a collection of photos of new-style 'celebrities' such as Mick Jagger, Jean Shrimpton and The Krays, did much to encapsulate the mid-60s scene in the media. The film also features Vanessa Redgrave, and The Yardbirds appear as themselves towards the end of the film.

Answer: Stevenage

Stevenage was one of the first wave of New Towns designated by the New Towns Act of 1946, designed to ease congestion in Greater London. The film has dated badly in certain respects but the decision to film somewhere different was a bold one. Donner himself has been quoted as stating that "the notion of Swinging London was anathema to me".* The film starred Barry Evans, who went on to find fame in the 'Doctor in the House' TV series and as the harassed English language teacher in ITV's 'Mind Your Language' in the 1970s. However by the time of his death in 1997 his acting career had faltered and he was working as a mini-cab driver.

* quoted in Robert Murphy's 'British Sixties Cinema'

Answer: The Strange Affair (1967)

Baker played a mixture of policemen and villains. In 'The Criminal' he plays the title role of Johnny Bannion, who plans to break out of prison to retrieve the proceeds of a robbery he had been imprisoned for. In 'Robbery' he plays Paul Clifton, the leader of a gang who rob a mail train (the film is clearly based on The Great Train Robbery of 1963) whilst in 'A Prize of Arms' he plans to rob an army payroll. However he also played police officers in 'Hell is a City' and 'Blind Date.'

'The Strange Affair' is a little-seen film starring Michael York which looks at the issue of police corruption and is a rare example of a late 1960s British crime film, which in its themes points the way to the 1970s and films such as 'Villain' and TV series like 'The Sweeney'.

Answer: Ken Loach

Ken Loach directed a number of TV plays for the BBC, most notably 'Cathy Come Home' in 1966. He worked again with Carol White, the 'star' of 'Cathy Come Home', in 'Poor Cow' but arguably his best film in a long career was 'Kes', based on Barry Hines' novel 'A Kestrel for a Knave' with many of the parts, including the main role of Billy Casper, played by amateurs. In 1999 the British Film Institute voted 'Kes' the seventh best British film ever.

Michael Winner, Ken Russell and John Schlesinger all also started out in TV, with Russell going on to make uncontrolled films such as 'Tommy' and 'The Devils' whilst Schlesinger moved to Hollywood before the end of the 1960s where he made 'Midnight Cowboy'. Winner made some interesting films, often working with Oliver Reed ('The System', made in 1964, is a good example) before finding commercial success, and critical derision, for the 'Death Wish' series of films with Charles Bronson.

Answer: The Crusaders start an armed insurrection at the school.

Travis, played by Malcolm McDowell, along with his two friends, a younger boy, and a young woman (known only as 'The Girl') they met in a cafe earlier in the film, lays smoke bombs during the end of term school ceremony when all the parents attend. As everyone evacuates they are fired upon by The Crusaders who are on the roof; the Headmaster appeals for calm but is shot once through the head by The Girl. It is unclear if this is 'really' happening or whether it is fantasy.

Anderson's next film, 'O Lucky Man!', featured McDowell playing the same character on an odyssey through Britain; he starts out as a sales rep for a coffee firm.

Travis had earlier received a severe caning from Rowntree, the Head of House, but does not exact any specific revenge on him.