DVD Review: Saturday Night Out (1964)
The initial write-up for Saturday Night Out described it as a tale of swinging London for a group of sailors of shore leave. It's not quite that - but it's still a very good film.
Dating back to 1964, it's more a tale of pre-swinging London, with the 'action' set around the London docks of the day, a mix of bomb craters, old terraces, newly-built tower blocks and old-fashioned pubs - and one such pub is where it all starts.
Off the ship and with 24 hours of leave, five sailors (and one passenger) are looking for thrills. One heads to his 'mum' (aka girlfriend), another (the sole Australian) looks for culture at the Royal Festival Hall, three head for the pub and the last one (George Hudson, played by Bernard Lee) goes to an upmarket hotel. And over the course of 100 minutes, we see how those nights pan out.
And each has its own distinctive twist. George Hudson gets caught in a 'honey trap' by the exotic Wanda (Erika Remberg), the Australian crew member Lee (John Bonney) gets involved with a beatnik (Penny - Heather Sears) outside the Festival Hall, Arthur (David Lodge) spends his time in bed with his young lady, Paddy (Nigel Green) gets up close and personal with a bottle of whiskey and the last two members...well...they're the two we spend most of our time with.
Loud-mouthed Harry (Inigo Jackson) and the quiet and subdued (or 'sensitive' if you like) Jamey (Colin Campbell) get friendly with a couple of young ladies in the pub. Harry gets the hump with his prospective squeeze when she asks for money, heading to the bright lights of the west end instead to look for his thrills. Jamie stays with the shy Jean (Francesca Annis)...eventually falling her...and her for him. How does it all end? I'll leave that for you to find out.
Despite being low budget, Saturday Night Out is a very well-directed, well-written drama, benefitting from the directorial hand of Robert Hartford-Davis and a very strong cast of semi-household names. Yes, it's still a b-movie, but one with more depth than you might expect. And over the course of the movie, we get a clutch of interlinked tales showing how to blackmail an elderly man with money, how to lose all your money and get a black eye in a sleazy Soho bar, how a beatnik lived (and loved) in early 60s London, how young love can blossom over a few gins and 12 hours and what a great night could be had in a rough boozer with a dodgy house band (The Searchers) on a Saturday night when the beer's flowing. Oh yes - and we get a happy ending too, what more can you ask?
Not a lot in my book. For just over £7, this is an incredibly engaging movie that offers much more than I expected in terms of both visuals and storyline. If you love movies from this particular era, this should be straight on your shopping list. Another great find by Odeon, which is DVD label of the moment for me.
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