A D@Y @T THE BE@CH 1 1970

Set near an unnamed British seaport (although the film looks like it was filmed in Denmark), A Day at the Beach follows alcoholic, failed intellectual Bernie's (Mark Burns) day trip with his "niece," Winnie (Beatie Edney, already a gifted actress here). Arriving in a miserable, drizzling rain, Bernie isn't exactly welcomed by either Winnie's mother, Melissa (Fiona Lewis), nor her husband, Carl. At times both insulting and threatening, he obsequiously bums money off Carl, so he can take Winnie out in a proper fashion...which really means money he'll use to buy alcohol. A look of absolute dread crosses Melissa's face when she sees Bernie, but Winnie, who appears to be around six-years-old, is delighted to see her beloved uncle. But this show of affection - as with any sign of anything civilized coming from anyone Bernie encounters - is met with selfish cruelty. Winnie, who wears a leg brace due to some unnamed handicap, is asked by Bernie if she doesn't have any trousers "to hide those irons." Winnie dutifully trots back to change, but Bernie hurries her into her yellow rain slicker and they're off for the day.

And what a miserable, wet, cold day it turns out to be for them. Constantly raining, the two grab a train for the seaside (but not before Bernie is smacked around by loan shark Louis, played by Bertel Lauring) where Bernie spends the entire day boozing it up every chance he gets, insulting the various tradesmen he encounters while scamming alcohol off them, and ignoring Winnie to the point where we often fear for her safety. A chance meeting with a "friend," Nicholas (Maurice Roeves), a former poet and now teacher, leads to more drinking with Nicholas and his wife, Tonie (Joanna Dunham), who responds sexually to Bernie's insulting behavior, and more neglect for Winnie, who's locked in a car with Nicholas' and Tonie' small son. Fueled by self-pitying rage and alcohol, the night spins further out of control for Bernie, despite the totally inadequate reassurances by small child Winnie that everything will be alright.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• TITLE02

[dirtynuke]

Ace channel. Watch your stuff a lot when I'm bored.

[AcesHigh1916]

@dirtynuke Thankyou very much, thats really kind of you, makes it all worthwhile

[TheCyberpath61]

WOW Thank you for uploading this film! Much appreciated :o) x

[jhassett2]

The lost Peter Sellers film!!!.Where do you find this stuff?