WE ARE THE LAMBETH BOYS 2

Karel Reisz's We Are the Lambeth Boys (1959) has much in common with Lindsay Anderson's Every Day Except Christmas (1957). It was produced by Leon Clore, sponsored by Ford for its Look at Britain series, filmed by the usual Free Cinema technical staff - in particular cinematographer Walter Lassally and editor John Fletcher - and delivered in the same 50-minute format.

The film once again took a sympathetic approach to an aspect of working-class life largely neglected by commercial British cinema. After Every Day's dignified depiction of market workers in Covent Garden, Lambeth Boys attempted to deliver a positive portrait of the lives of ordinary teenagers, far from the usual violent 'Teddy Boy' stereotype. In a sense, the film also developed the theme initiated by Reisz and Tony Richardson in Momma Don't Allow three years earlier.

Lambeth Boys was shot over six weeks in the summer of 1958 in and around the Alford House, a youth club in the Oval area of South London. It follows a group of teenagers at work, at home and in their leisure time, giving them space to express their frustrations and aspirations.. The film is never so good as when it lets the camera move around the group or capture their faces in close-up, rather than providing facts and figures or a sociological analysis.

In a famous article on the film in Sight and Sound, sociologist Richard Hoggart talked of it as a 'film essay' rather than a documentary, because, as he claimed, "it sets out to show, not the whole truth, but some aspects of the truth, wholly". From that perspective, the film succeeded in embodying "the strength and variety of these young people's vitality, their lively, tolerant and complex sense of community".

However the film suffers similar drawbacks to Every Day Except Christmas: the unnecessary voice-over commentary gives it a paternalist tone which undermines the sensitivity of Reisz's images and natural sound, and seems obsolete to today's spectator. The film also loses some of its 'poetic authenticity' by trying too hard to show how nice these youngsters are.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• SHORT
• FILM

[entraildivider]

fantastic! not a paki in sight!

[sexyeyes1969]

I like these kind of british films that focus on the youth of england of that time era and into the 60,s.yes unfortunately it isn,t like that nowadays in Britain as I remember.

As one person below me wrote it is the sumo of the third world. There are way too many foreigners who invaded Britain. Im sure some of the english reject this very much.

I haven,t seen this film at all on TV here. I shall look out for it...

[poussecafe3]

Live in Lambeth today it is not like this film. Nice young English people, nice but tired neighbourhood, amazing orderly school. Not like that today, it is the sump of the third world. It was like taking away candy from children stealing these peoples country away. They allowed it to happen- amazing

[matthewbrunswick]

I thought they were all pretty much the same now but now there aren't youth clubs that are are funded for kids needs. The minor ways the accent has changed is interesting.

[deliow]

Go visit kennington / peckham / brixton / or ANYWHERE in South London ( and North, West & East) now and you can play spot the white man , dodge the mugger, & avoid the knife (gun) crime. WELL, thats progress for you.

[staypress]

geez if they made this now at a school in Kennington London the colour would be reversed

[LokiV]

God dam it i what some fish n chips now lol.

[alanbrokenspoke]

great video, cheers

[smikestack]

Two different languages, eh. Film makers and interviewers may as well be Martians landing.

[salochin01]

Superb!