Scrubbers (1983)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Mai Zetterling

Writers:

Susannah Buxton (writer)
Roy Minton (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

16 March 1983 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

IT'S A CRIME WHAT PRISON CAN DO TO A GIRL!

Plot:

Two girls escape from an open borstal for two very different reasons; Annetta to attempt to visit her baby daughter...

Plot Keywords:

Girl | Violence | Reform School | Prison | Lesbian

Cast

Amanda York	...	Carol Howden
Chrissie Cotterill	...	Annetta Brady
Elizabeth Edmonds	...	Kathleen
Kate Ingram	...	Eddie
Amanda Symonds	...	Mac
Kathy Burke	...	Glennis
Debby Bishop	...	Doreen (as Debbie Bishop)
Eva Mottley	...	Pam
Imogen Bain	...	Sandy
Honey Bane	...	Molly
Camille Davis	...	Sharon
Rachel Weaver	...	Gwen (as Rachael Weaver)
Dawn Archibald	...	Mary
Faith Tingle	...	Hilary
Lilian Rostkowska	...	Phyllis
Anna Mackeown	...	Eva
Dana Gillespie	...	Budd
Pauline Melville	...	Crow
Pam St. Clement	...	Strapper
Miriam Margolyes	...	Jones
Jacqueline Holborough	...	Daly (as Jackie Holborough)
Caroline Needs	...	Shaw
Olwen Griffiths	...	Mrs. Paddy
Carol Gillies	...	Miss Holly
Richard Butler	...	Governor
Brian Croucher	...	Leo
Timothy Kightley	...	Dr. Siles (as Tim Kightley)
Robbie Coltrane	...	Puff Guts
Jane Freeman	...	Sister
Steve Alder	...	Terry
Ken Shorter	...	Rex
Bradley Hardiman	...	Gary
Gemma Murphy	...	Alice (child)
Valerie Lilley	...	Nun (as Val Lilley)
Finola Keogh	...	Nun
Maggie Wright	...	Open borstal officer
Yvonne D'Alpra	...	Open borstal officer

Directed by
Mai Zetterling

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Susannah Buxton		writer
Roy Minton		writer
Jeremy Watt		writer
Mai Zetterling		writer

Produced by
Don Boyd	....	producer
George Harrison	....	executive producer
Denis O'Brien	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Michael Hurd

Cinematography by
Ernest Vincze

Film Editing by
Rodney Holland

Casting by
Beth Charkham

Art Direction by
Celia Barnett

Costume Design by
Susannah Buxton

Art Department
Adrian Start	....	supervisor painter

Sound Department
Bob Allen	....	sound recordist
Graham Harris	....	sound editor
Brian Paxton	....	dubbing mixer
John Poyner	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Billy Merrell	....	electrician (as Bill Merrell)
Martin Testar	....	additional focus puller

Music Department
Ray Cooper	....	music supervisor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Richard Booz	....	transportation captain

Production Companies

• HandMade Films

Distributors

• HandMade Films (1983) (UK) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK) (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Cannon Screen Entertainment (1987) (UK) (VHS)
• Fabulous Films (1995) (UK) (VHS)
• Orion Classics (1984) (USA)

Other Companies

• Film Wheels Ltd.  transportation
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Virginia Water, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

HandMade Films

Quotes:

Mac: [Mac's final song] A Borstal girl came home one day / To find her love had gone away / She asked him why he went astray / He turned to her, and he did say / "Once, you could have been my wife / If you had led a decent life / But you preferred a life of crime / So, back in side, and do your time."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mayo: (#1.8)" (2006)

Disturbing, heavy going and extremely watchable

As the previous user noted, SCRUBBERS is indeed a knock-off of the earlier borstal drama SCUM, only set in a reform school for girls. What did he expect though? The two films even share the same screenwriter in the excellent Roy Minton!

There are differences, however. If anything, I'd say SCRUBBERS is far more extreme and distressing than its all-male counterpart, if only for the harrowing scenes in which a heavily tranquilized inmate suffers vivid (and VERY upsetting) hallucinations concerning her young daughter. You can see where Trainspotting got the idea from, but this film does it so much better. The attack scene with the wooden cosh is a little unrealistic, but you'll never forget the riot in the workshop, the chaotic conclusion of the inmates' concert (be warned - this is not a film for the squeamish) or the intentionally understated suicide. I won't give any more away, as this is a film everyone should see at least once. Don't expect feelgood entertainment or something that invites repeated viewing, though.

The whole cast perform exceptionally well, and the eagle-eyed will be able to spot many semi-familiar faces, including former blues singer Dana Gillespie (yes, the one with the 44-inch bust!), Pauline Melville (who played Vyv's ratbag mother in the eighties sitcom The Young Ones), Kathy Burke (playing a younger variation on her future star-making turn as 'Waynetta Slob'), Pam StClements of EastEnders fame and even Robbie Coltrane as a character appropriately nicknamed 'Puff Guts'.

There is also a little in-joke from the film's production house, HandMade Films - one scene has the inmates watching a notably violent excerpt from the earlier HandMade triumph THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY on television. Which is proof positive that the British Film Industry was once in very good health indeed.

Provocative, gut-churning and upsetting. See it.