Joan Littlewood Movies
Nicknamed "the Mother of Modern Theater" for her immense contributions to the British stage, Joan Littlewood breathed new life into theater by introducing an unpredictability that turned the generally complacent, well-behaved world of stage performance on its head. A London native, Littlewood won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, though she would quickly drop out and relocate to Manchester to try her hand at repertory theater. Quickly tiring of that as well, Littlewood became fascinated with avant-garde theater and formed both the Theater of Action and Theater Union with playwright and future husband Jimmy Miller (born Ewan McCall). Touring as a troupe and introducing the concept of the Living Newspaper (improvisational theater based on newspaper stories) to British audiences, the Theater of Action would in 1953 find a home in Stanford East's dilapidated Theater Royal. A cutting-edge troupe that was at one point prosecuted for breaching censorship laws, the Theater of Actions' turbulent nature proved the demise of Littlewood and Miller's marriage, though the company did produce the controversial and immensely popular stage play A Taste of Honey, concerning an interracial relationship between a white woman and a black sailor. A hit on both the West End and Broadway, the play proved the origins for a film version starring Rita Tushingham. Other film adaptations of the Theater of Actions' plays include Richard Attenborough's film version of the improvised World War II satire Oh What a Lovely War. Often alternating between experimental theater and stripped-down Shakespeare, Littlewood's few film credits include her work as writer and director of the 1963 comedy-drama Sparrows Can't Sing. Littlewood found a soul mate in Theater Workshop member Gerry Raffles, and she remained close to him until his death in 1975, when she moved to France and became increasingly reclusive. In 1994, Littlewood published an autobiography entitled Joan's Book. On September 20, 2002, Joan Littlewood died of natural causes in London. She was 87. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Oh! What a Lovely War is an every-man-for-himself adaptation of Charles Chilton's 1963 play, as staged in London by Joan Littlewood. The tragedy of World War I is redefined in bawdy music-hall terms, beginning with a verbal free-for-all involving the Crowned Heads of Europe. The war is presented as the "new attraction" at the Brighton Amusement Pier, complete with syrupy cheer-up songs, shooting galleries, free prizes and a scoreboard toting up the dead. Throughout the proceedings, the camera concentrates on a middle-class family, whose five sons end up as cannon fodder. The final image is a veddy proper British picnic on a graveyard. Of the many fleeting satiric images parading past the camera, one of the most indelible is the sight of several generals playing leapfrog as the world all around them goes to hell in a handbasket. The awesome all-star cast includes Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Maggie Smith, John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Jack Hawkins, John Mills, Susannah York, Dirk Bogarde and Phyllis Calvert. We haven't seen this many Englishmen in one place since the last Wimbledon match. The whole affair was supervised by Richard Attenborough, making his directorial debut (a question: why was he up to the challenge of this musical extravaganza, yet seemed helpless in the face of 1985's A Chorus Line?). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Richardson, Meriel Forbes, (more)
- 1963
This British comedy drama of the lower classes features actors with such thick cockney accents that some prints of the film were subtitled. James Booth stars as Charlie, a merchant seaman who returns home to the East End after two years to find that his wife Maggie (Barbara Windsor) has taken up with another man, a married bus driver named Bert (George Sewell). After taking his brother Fred (Roy Kinnear) hostage in a pub, Charlie gets a reunion with Maggie, who shows up pushing a pram. It seems she's given birth to a child, and the father's identity is uncertain. Charlie and Maggie reconcile, but not before a vicious row with Bert, who doesn't want to give up his girl. Windsor, a BAFTA Best Actress nominee for her role, also performed the film's title song. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Booth, Barbara Windsor, (more)
