Private Road
| Private Road | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Barney Platts-Mills |
| Written by | Barney Platts-Mills |
| Produced by | Barney Platts-Mills Andrew St. John |
| Starring | Susan Penhaligon Bruce Robinson |
| Cinematography | Adam Barker-Mill |
| Edited by | Jonathan Gili |
| Music by | David Dundas Michael Feast George Fenton |
Production company | Maya Films |
| Distributed by | Maya Films |
Release date | 30 September 1971 (London) |
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £26,000[1] |
Private Road is a 1971 British drama film directed by Barney Platts-Mills and starring Susan Penhaligon and Bruce Robinson. It was Platts-Mills second feature, following his debut with Bronco Bullfrog.
Plot
Peter Morrisey (Bruce Robinson) is an author who has just published his first novel. He meets receptionist Ann Halpern (Susan Penhaligon) and falls in love. They spend some time in a cottage in Scotland living an idyllic pastoral life, then return to London. Peter gets a job at an advertising agency as a copywriter. Ann becomes pregnant and Peter asks her to marry him but she refuses. To Peter's shock, Ann decides to have an abortion without talking to him about it first. After a spell in hospital Ann returns home and her father gives her a house. Peter returns to his flat alone, still thinking that he will marry Ann. With his friend Stephen, Peter breaks into an office block and steals a typewriter so he can resume his writing career.
Cast
- Susan Penhaligon as Ann Halpern
- Bruce Robinson as Peter Morrissey
- Michael Feast as Stephen
- Robert Brown as Mr. Halpern
- George Fenton as Henry
- Kathleen Byron as Mrs. Halpern
- Patricia Cutts as Erica Talbot
- Trevor Adams as Alex Marvel
Production
Development
Platts-Mills got the idea for the script from an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. Filming was completed by October 1970.[2]
Shooting
Shooting mostly took place in Notting Hill and Westbourne Grove.
Production notes
- Robinson had been in a number of movies including Romeo and Juliet and The Music Lovers. Penhaglion was best known for starring in Romeo and Juliet on television.[3]
- According to the BFI, the movie "was a conscious effort to fit with the more mainstream, commercial filmmaking model than Bronco was" and the filmmakers determined to release it themselves.[1]
- It used professional actors.[4]
Release
Reception
Variety said Platts-Mills "shows a greater maturity and depth for a film that should get youthful and adult audience interest with careful placement."[5]
Alexander Walker reviewing the film at Cannes called it "lovely, unsentimental, well observed... someone in London show it quickly."[6] The movie screened at the 1971 Edinburgh Film Festival where the Daily Telegraph praised its "honesty".[7] Sight and Sound gave the film a two-page (positive) review.[8]
The film had its debut in a Notting Hill cinema on 30 September 1971.[3]
Awards
The film won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival.[9]
Home media
After several years out of print it was reissued on Blu-ray and DVD by the BFI in 2011 as part of their Flipside reissue program.
References
- ^ a b Barrett, Shona. "Platts-Mills, Barney (1944-)". BFI Screenonline.
- ^ Malcolm, Derek (29 October 1970). "Fable of the bullfrog and the lion". The Guardian. p. 10.
- ^ a b "Platts Mills private premiere". Kensington Post. 1 October 1971. p. 30.
- ^ Gilbey, Ryan (15 October 2021). "Barney Platts-Mills obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ "Private Road Review 17 August 1971". Variety. 1983.
- ^ Walker, Alexander (29 May 1971). "Satire on Stallin screen glorifications". The Guardian Journal. p. 8.
- ^ "Doing their own thing". The Daily Telegraph. 20 August 1971. p. 9.
- ^ Houston, Penelope (Autumn 1971). "Private Road". Sight and Sound. pp. 218–219.
- ^ "Winners of the Golden Leopard". Locarno. Archived from the original on 19 July 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
External links
- Private Road at IMDb
- Private Road at Letterbox
- Private Road at BFI
- Review of film at Pop Matters
- Review of film at Spinning Image
 | This article related to a British film of the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This 1970s drama film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |