Cosh Boy: Difference between revisions
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| country = [[United Kingdom]] |
| country = [[United Kingdom]] |
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| language = [[English language|English]] |
| language = [[English language|English]] |
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|studio=Daniel Angel Films |
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|distributor=Romulus (UK)<br>Lippert (US) |
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| gross = £112,918 (UK)<ref>Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p499</ref> |
| gross = £112,918 (UK)<ref>Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p499</ref> |
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* [[Frederick Piper]] as Mr Easter |
* [[Frederick Piper]] as Mr Easter |
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* [[Anthony Oliver]] as Doctor |
* [[Anthony Oliver]] as Doctor |
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==Production== |
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The film was based on a play, "Master Crook" by Bruce Walker which had been originally titled "Cosh Boy". It debuted at the Embassy in 1951 starring James Kenney.''The Spectator'' said "its rough, crude taste is shockingly welcome" and praised the third act for its "highly unpleasant, undeniably effective, melodramatic tension."<ref>"Master Crook." by Bruce Walker (Book Review) |
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I. H. The Spectator; London Vol. 188, Iss. 6445, (Jan 4, 1952): 12. </ref> ''Variety'' called it "a strong piece of melodrama."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety184-1951-12/page/n222/mode/1up?q=%22master+crook%22|page=13|date=26 December 1951|title=London Xma Stage Preems Hit Best Since May}}</ref> |
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Joan Collins called it "a shop girl’s melodrama and the public loved it. I enjoyed working with Jimmy and all the other young actors. The director, Lewis Gilbert, was adorable to me, and good to work with. "<ref>{{cite book|first=Joan|last=Collins|page=51|title=Past Imperfect}}</ref> |
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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''Cosh Boy'' has also been named ''The Tough Guy'', or ''The Slasher''. It was |
''Cosh Boy'' has also been named ''The Tough Guy'', or ''The Slasher''. It was called ''The Slasher'' in America because they were unfamiliar with the term "cosh".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248877077 |title=World-wide Film and Theatre News |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |volume=XIV, |issue=14 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=22 February 1953 |accessdate=5 September 2020 |page=38 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> |
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It was among the first British films to receive the new [[X certificate]]. It was given a Certificate rating of 16 in [[Norway]] (1953), and banned in [[Sweden]]. |
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The film's release coincided with the trial of [[Derek Bentley]] and some media linked the film to Bentley's crimes. "Today you'd show it to 10 year olds", Lewis Gilbert commented in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Nicholas|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/mar/10/culture.features2|title=Of human Bondage|work=The Guardian|date=10 March 2000|accessdate=9 April 2016}}</ref> |
The film's release coincided with the trial of [[Derek Bentley]] and some media linked the film to Bentley's crimes. "Today you'd show it to 10 year olds", Lewis Gilbert commented in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Nicholas|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/mar/10/culture.features2|title=Of human Bondage|work=The Guardian|date=10 March 2000|accessdate=9 April 2016}}</ref> |
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The film was banned in Birmingham.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75730784 |title=PUT ON YOUR EASTER BONNET |newspaper=[[Mirror]] |volume=30, |issue=1661 |location=Western Australia |date=28 March 1953 |accessdate=5 September 2020 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> It was also refused permission to be shown in Australia.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/KineWeekly2446/page/n7/mode/1up?q=%22cosh+boy%22|magazine=Kine Weekly|page=8|date=13 May 1954|title=Australia Takes 68 British Productions}}</ref> |
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===Critical=== |
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''Variety'' said the film was "bound to attract undue controversy" wherever it was screened and felt American audiences would have trouble understanding the accents.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/variety189-1953-03/page/n83/mode/1up?q=%22cosh+boy%22+ Review of film] at Variety</ref> |
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The ''Los Angeles Times'' said the "acting... is tops."<ref>Absorbing Drama Found in Twin Bill |
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G K. Los Angeles Times 25 July 1953: A7. </ref> |
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==Historical context== |
==Historical context== |
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In England in the early 1950s, male youths in post-[[World War II]] delinquent gangs who had adopted [[1900s in Western fashion|Edwardian-era]] fashion were initially known as 'cosh boys',<ref name="McIntyre et al">{{cite book |last1=McIntyre |first1=Iain |last2=Nette |first2=Andrew |last3=Doyle |first3=Peter |title=Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980 |date=2017 |publisher=PM Press |location=London |isbn=9781629634586}}</ref><ref name="Kirby">{{cite book |last1=Kirby |first1=Dick |title=Death on the Beat: Police Officers Killed in the Line of Duty |date=2013 |publisher=Wharncliffe |isbn=9781845631611 |page=29}}</ref> but later became better known as '[[Teddy Boy]]s' after a 23 September 1953 ''[[Daily Express]]'' newspaper headline shortened ''Edwardian'' to ''Teddy''.<ref name="Ferris">{{cite book |last1=Ferris |first1=Ray |last2=Lord |first2=Julian |title=Teddy Boys: A concise history |date=2012 |publisher=Milo Books}}</ref> |
In England in the early 1950s, male youths in post-[[World War II]] delinquent gangs who had adopted [[1900s in Western fashion|Edwardian-era]] fashion were initially known as 'cosh boys',<ref name="McIntyre et al">{{cite book |last1=McIntyre |first1=Iain |last2=Nette |first2=Andrew |last3=Doyle |first3=Peter |title=Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980 |date=2017 |publisher=PM Press |location=London |isbn=9781629634586}}</ref><ref name="Kirby">{{cite book |last1=Kirby |first1=Dick |title=Death on the Beat: Police Officers Killed in the Line of Duty |date=2013 |publisher=Wharncliffe |isbn=9781845631611 |page=29}}</ref> but later became better known as '[[Teddy Boy]]s' after a 23 September 1953 ''[[Daily Express]]'' newspaper headline shortened ''Edwardian'' to ''Teddy''.<ref name="Ferris">{{cite book |last1=Ferris |first1=Ray |last2=Lord |first2=Julian |title=Teddy Boys: A concise history |date=2012 |publisher=Milo Books}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 12:33, 5 September 2020
| Cosh Boy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | Lewis Gilbert |
| Screenplay by | Lewis Gilbert Vernon Harris |
| Based on | play Master Crook by Bruce Walker |
| Produced by | Daniel M. Angel |
| Starring | James Kenney Joan Collins |
| Cinematography | Jack Asher |
| Edited by | Charles Hasse |
| Music by | Lambert Williamson |
Production company | Daniel Angel Films |
| Distributed by | Romulus (UK) Lippert (US) |
Release date | 1953 |
Running time | 75 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £112,918 (UK)[1] |
Cosh Boy (released in the United States as The Slasher) is a 1953 British film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring James Kenney and Joan Collins. It was made at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.
Plot
Based on an original play by Bruce Walker, the film tells of the exploits of 16-year-old delinquent youth Roy Walsh (James Kenney) and his gang in post-World War II London.
The gang starts off by mugging women. Later, Roy becomes infatuated with Rene (Joan Collins), the sister of one of the gang members; but, already having a boyfriend, Brian, she rejects Roy, to his fury. Later the gang beats up Brian. Roy menaces Rene, who eventually submits to him. When she informs him that he has made her pregnant and urges him to marry her, he decides he wants nothing more to do with her.
Roy's mother, Elsie Walsh (Betty Ann Davies), is involved with Canadian Bob Stevens (Robert Ayres), who urges her to marry him so he can take Roy "in hand" before it's too late. Roy hates Bob.
Bob works as an assistant manager at the Palidrome dance hall, which becomes a target for the gang. Another member of staff appears on the scene whom Roy shoots and wounds (he initially believes he has killed the man).
Later that night a crowd of women arrive on the doorstep with Rene's mother, who adds that the police are on their way. Bob arrives, removes Rene's mother from the scene and decides to give Roy a thrashing - for his own good - before the police arrive in the belief that, if the judge hears he has already received a thrashing, his sentence might be lighter, which will be easier for his mother to stomach. The police arrive just as Bob is brandishing his belt in readiness. Bob lets them in, and in reply to their enquiry as to his identity he says he is the boy's stepfather, as "his mother and I were married this morning".
The senior officer congratulates him. Then, seeing the belt in Bob’s hand, he smiles, and suggests to his colleague that they go and arrest the other gang member first and come back for Roy later. Bob begins thrashing Roy as the scene cuts to outside and the mob of women listening to Roy's cries and shrieks for help. The detectives then walk away silently, into the night.
Cast
- James Kenney as Roy Walsh
- Joan Collins as Rene Collins
- Betty Ann Davies as Elsie Walsh
- Robert Ayres as Bob Stevens
- Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Collins
- Hermione Gingold as Queenie
- Nancy Roberts as Gran Walsh
- Laurence Naismith as Inspector Donaldson
- Ian Whittaker as Alfie Collins
- Stanley Escane as Pete
- Michael McKeag as Brian
- Sean Lynch as Darky
- Johnny Briggs as Skinny Johnson
- Edward Evans as Sergeant Woods
- Cameron Hall as Mr. Beverley
- Sid James as Police Sergeant
- Frederick Piper as Mr Easter
- Anthony Oliver as Doctor
Production
The film was based on a play, "Master Crook" by Bruce Walker which had been originally titled "Cosh Boy". It debuted at the Embassy in 1951 starring James Kenney.The Spectator said "its rough, crude taste is shockingly welcome" and praised the third act for its "highly unpleasant, undeniably effective, melodramatic tension."[2] Variety called it "a strong piece of melodrama."[3]
Joan Collins called it "a shop girl’s melodrama and the public loved it. I enjoyed working with Jimmy and all the other young actors. The director, Lewis Gilbert, was adorable to me, and good to work with. "[4]
Reception
Cosh Boy has also been named The Tough Guy, or The Slasher. It was called The Slasher in America because they were unfamiliar with the term "cosh".[5]
It was among the first British films to receive the new X certificate. It was given a Certificate rating of 16 in Norway (1953), and banned in Sweden.
The film's release coincided with the trial of Derek Bentley and some media linked the film to Bentley's crimes. "Today you'd show it to 10 year olds", Lewis Gilbert commented in 2000.[6]
The film was banned in Birmingham.[7] It was also refused permission to be shown in Australia.[8]
Critical
Variety said the film was "bound to attract undue controversy" wherever it was screened and felt American audiences would have trouble understanding the accents.[9]
The Los Angeles Times said the "acting... is tops."[10]
Historical context
In England in the early 1950s, male youths in post-World War II delinquent gangs who had adopted Edwardian-era fashion were initially known as 'cosh boys',[11][12] but later became better known as 'Teddy Boys' after a 23 September 1953 Daily Express newspaper headline shortened Edwardian to Teddy.[13]
References
- ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p499
- ^ "Master Crook." by Bruce Walker (Book Review) I. H. The Spectator; London Vol. 188, Iss. 6445, (Jan 4, 1952): 12.
- ^ "London Xma Stage Preems Hit Best Since May". Variety. 26 December 1951. p. 13.
- ^ Collins, Joan. Past Imperfect. p. 51.
- ^ "World-wide Film and Theatre News". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIV, , no. 14. New South Wales, Australia. 22 February 1953. p. 38. Retrieved 5 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Jones, Nicholas (10 March 2000). "Of human Bondage". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "PUT ON YOUR EASTER BONNET". Mirror. Vol. 30, , no. 1661. Western Australia. 28 March 1953. p. 6. Retrieved 5 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Australia Takes 68 British Productions". Kine Weekly. 13 May 1954. p. 8.
- ^ Review of film at Variety
- ^ Absorbing Drama Found in Twin Bill G K. Los Angeles Times 25 July 1953: A7.
- ^ McIntyre, Iain; Nette, Andrew; Doyle, Peter (2017). Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980. London: PM Press. ISBN 9781629634586.
- ^ Kirby, Dick (2013). Death on the Beat: Police Officers Killed in the Line of Duty. Wharncliffe. p. 29. ISBN 9781845631611.
- ^ Ferris, Ray; Lord, Julian (2012). Teddy Boys: A concise history. Milo Books.
