The Boy Friend (1971)

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Ken Russell (screenplay)
Sandy Wilson (musical)

Release Date:

31 March 1972 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

EMI-MGM Presents The Return Of Entertainment

Plot:

The assistant stage manager of a small-time theatrical company (Polly Browne) is forced to understudy...

Plot Keywords:

1920s | Fantasy Sequence | Rivalry | Backstage | Spoof

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Twiggy	...	Polly Browne
Christopher Gable	...	Tony Brockhurst
Max Adrian	...	Max Mandeville aka Mr. Max / Lord Hubert Brockhurst
Bryan Pringle	...	Percy Parkhill / Percy Browne
Murray Melvin	...	Alphonse
Moyra Fraser	...	Moyra Parkhill / Madame Dubonnet
Georgina Hale	...	Fay
Sally Bryant	...	Nancy
Vladek Sheybal	...	De Thrill
Tommy Tune	...	Tommy
Brian Murphy	...	Peter
Graham Armitage	...	Michael
Antonia Ellis	...	Maisie
Caryl Little	...	Dulcie
Anne Jameson	...	Mrs. Peter (as Ann Jameson)
Catherine Willmer	...	Catherine Max / Lady Catherine Brockhurst
Robert La Bassier	...	Chauffer
Barbara Windsor	...	Rosie / Hortense
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Susan Claire	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Peter Greenwell	...	Pianist (uncredited)
Glenda Jackson	...	Rita (uncredited)
Petra Siniawski	...	Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Ken Russell

Writing credits
Ken Russell		(screenplay)
Sandy Wilson		(musical)

Produced by
Harry Benn	....	associate producer
Ken Russell	....	producer

Original Music by
Peter Maxwell Davies

Cinematography by
David Watkin

Film Editing by
Michael Bradsell

Production Design by
Tony Walton

Costume Design by
Shirley Russell

Production Management
Neville C. Thompson	....	production manager

Art Department
Bryn Siddall	....	property buyer

Sound Department
Maurice Askew	....	sound recordist
Brian Simmons	....	sound mixer
Lionel Strutt	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Wick Finch	....	electrician
Sherman Kunkel	....	camera operator
Alan McCabe	....	camera operator
Alan McCall	....	camera operator

Music Department
Peter Maxwell Davies	....	music arranger
Peter Maxwell Davies	....	musical director
Christopher Gable	....	musical choreographer
Peter Greenwell	....	music associate

Other crew
Geoff Freeman	....	unit publicist
Susanna Merry	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presented by)
• Russflix

Distributors

• MGM-EMI (1971) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1971) (USA) (theatrical) (cut version)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1972) (France) (theatrical)
• Turner Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

The Boyfriend (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

137 min | UK:125 min (short UK version) | UK:140 min (director's cut) | USA:109 min (US version) | USA:138 min (TCM print)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

At the end of the film Murray Melvin's character says, "I think I'll take up the cloth." Melvin had played a demented priest in Ken Russell's previous film The Devils (1971).

Quotes:

Polly Browne: [singing] We want to have, we plot to have, for it's so dreary not to have that certain thing called "The Boyfriend".

Movie Connections:

Featured in That's Dancing! (1985)

Soundtrack:

It's Nicer in Nice

Great Cast in Underrated Gem

Wonderful music and terrific English performers make this spoof of 30s musicals a must. Twiggy is wonderful as the understudy who must fill in for the injured star (Glenda Jackson in a funny cameo). And a Hollywood big shot is in the audience.... Hmmmm. Superb turns by Antonia Ellis as Maisie, Christopher Gable as Tony, and the rest: Max Adrian, Georgina Hale, Moyra Fraser, Barbara Windsor, Bryan Pringle, Catherine Willmer, Tommy Tune, and Murray Melvin. Great sets and costumes and all those musical numbers. Twiggy (yes, she can sing and dance) and Tune teamed up on Broadway years later in Me and My Girl. And this is the show that made a star of Julie Andrews on Broadway in 1954. Great Sandy Wilson show made into a glorious film by Ken Russell. His gentle spoof of 30s musicals, including the famous Busby Berkley dance routines and many inside jokes and lines from 30s musicals make this a total treat for fans of the genre. Jackson's "now go out there and be so great.... you'll make me hate you," is a direct quote from 42nd St, where Bebe Daniels says the line to Ruby Keeler. Also with Graham Armitage, Caryl Little, Sally Bryant, Brian Murphy, Vladel Shaybal as DeThrill, and Peter Greenwell as the pianist (who won an Oscar nomination for his orchestration). What fun! And one of Russell's best films.

Ken Russell takes a straightforward show and adds layers by having characters imagine bigtime Hollywood versions of the small touring company's musical numbers. This opens up the movie and makes for a dazzling spectacle of music, dance, and color. But without terrific performances, this would all be for nothing. Twiggy is really good as the shy Polly the stand-in. She and Christopher Gable make a nice dance team in several numbers. Max Adrian and Catherine Willmer are hilarious as the troop manager and his wife Hilda, as are Moyra Fraser and Bryan Pringle as the haughty star and his wife. My favorites are Antonia Ellis as the ferocious Maisie, Georgina Hale as the fog-horn voiced Fay, and Barbara Windsor as busty Hortense.

The music is great. Twiggy gets to sing "You Are My Lucky Star" and "All I Do the Whole Day Through." Hale and Adrian are memorable in "Never Too Old to Fall in Love." Fraser and Pringle are fun in "You Don't Want to Play with Me Blues," and the closing "Doing the Riviera" is a fond homage to Berkley with the famous chorus girls on winged plane number. Also love "The Boy Friend," "We're Perfect Young Ladies," "Nicer in Niece," "A Room in Bloomsbury," "Fancy Your Forgetting," and "Sur La Plage."

THE BOY FRIEND is a fond and loving spoof of old-time musicals and beautifully done. A must-see for all fans of classic musicals.