Tony Garnett Movies

Based on a novel by Edgar Wallace, this crime drama centers on two car thieves who inadvertently interfere with a kidnapping when they steal the vehicle that contains the ransom for the daughter of a Swedish tycoon. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

British filmmaker Ken Loach began his illustrious career making television movies for the BBC's well-regarded Wednesday Play series. From the beginning, his films addressed social issues from a clearheaded leftist point-of-view. As Cathy Come Home demonstrates, Loach is a true social realist, in that he eschews sentimentality. Cathy (Carol White) is a young, attractive, working-class woman. When she marries Reg (Ray Brooks), they take a larger apartment, thinking that between their two modest salaries, they'll be able to squeak by. Reg expects his lot to improve, but it doesn't. Cathy has a baby, and in short order gets pregnant again, and before long, the couple find themselves in dire financial straits. They lose one apartment to an unscrupulous landlord. They're forced out of a caravan park after a fire. They move in with Reg's mother, but she kicks them out of her cramped flat after an argument with Cathy. The couple ends up at the mercy of the British government's grossly inadequate public housing program. Cathy is forced to live with the children in a women's shelter, where Reg is not allowed to stay. Despondent and ashamed at his inability to provide for his family, Reg visits Cathy and the kids less and less frequently, and the couple begin to drift apart. Slipping into financial destitution, Cathy must now struggle to maintain custody of her children. Loach intersperses his vérité-style black-and-white footage of Cathy's travails with what is presumably documentary footage of the housing system's victims. He also uses voice-overs of people describing their experiences in the housing system, and a narrator gives vital statistics on homelessness, the unfair scapegoating of immigrants, and the slow destruction of poor British families by the housing bureaucracy. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

In this 1969 Ken Loach film, a 15-year-old named Billy Casper (played by acting newcomer David Bradley) suffers abuse both at home and at school in Yorkshire, England. At his home in the working-class section of Barnsley, Billy's brother beats him and his family neglects him. At school, most of his teachers ridicule and reject him, especially sadistic Mr. Sugden (Brian Glover. Like other downtrodden children in an outmoded social system favoring the ruling class, Billy appears headed for a menial job with no future. Consequently, he has no motivation and nothing to look forward to, until the day he finds a kestrel -- a European falcon with the ability to hover against strong wind. The bird, a fledgling, is akin to the boy, who must withstand winds of his own. It is not surprising, therefore, that Billy finds meaning in befriending and caring for the baby kestrel. He raises, nurtures, and trains the falcon, whom he calls "Kes." Its development gives him hope that he too will one day develop, that he too will gain the skills to fly against the wind. Then Billy opts to spend his brother's track money on food for Kes, which sets the stage for a grave disagreement betwen the young men and an unhappy outcome. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Zycie Rodzinne (Family Life, 1970), Krzysztof Zanussi's follow-up to his 1969 The Structure of Crystals, begins with an industrial designer named Wit who returns to his boyhood home at the outset of the story when confronted with the distressing news of his father's terminal illness. Wit initially feels a bit pompous and superior to his kin, who now live in a half-dilapidated home and have made their world small and narrow, with the father running a barely successful small business. Though Wit at first feels a strong conviction that he has risen above his origins, he finds himself slowly falling prey to old comforts and family values. Ultimately offered a new life with his family, with a partnership in the business, Wit is forced to confront his beliefs and convictions, and reassess his priorities. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Two TV plays by Barry Hines were bracketed together as the British "miniseries" The Price of Coal. Both stories took place in Yorkshire, and both concerned a grungy coal-mining community. In "Meet the People," the townsfolk prepared for a visit from Royalty, while in the appropriately titled "Back to Reality," a disaster in the pits spelled tragedy for everyone in and out of the mines. Shown in a brace of 75-minute installments, The Price of Coal was telecast on March 29 and May 4, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this fascinating adventure of the England of the 1750s, the huge Frenchman Black Jack (Jean Franval) miraculously survives a hanging by the British authorities in Yorkshire and escapes from the grim jaws of "justice." He takes to the countryside in the company of Tolly, a teenaged boy who is able to translate Black Jack's odd speech into something comprehensible. They join up with Belle, an aristocratic teenager who has escaped from the madhouse her family imprisoned her in when she grew troublesome. Together, the three join a carnival. However, as it becomes clear that the girl is far from crazy, love between Tolly and Belle grows. This story, set in the mid-18th century, is based on a novel by Leon Garfield. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The first film to be adapted from the popular children's television series Sesame Street, Follow That Bird follows the story of Big Bird after a social worker (Sally Kellerman) takes him away from Sesame Street to live with a family of birds in Illinois. Unhappy in his new surroundings, Big Bird attempts to hitchhike back home to Sesame Street. Over the course of his journey he meets a number of odd and charming characters, in the form of cameos by Chevy Chase, Sandra Bernhard, Waylon Jennings, Dave Thomas and John Candy. The music for this engaging family film was written by Van Dyke Parks and Lennie Niehaus. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

"Fat Man" and "Little Boy" were the nicknames given the atomic bombs that were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the waning days of World War II. This elaborately assembled film is the story of the events leading up to the dawn of the atomic age. Paul Newman plays General Leslie Groves, a hard-nosed career soldier who in 1942 finds himself the reluctant "nursemaid" to a group of idealistic scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico. As the military head of the top-secret Manhattan Project, Groves intends to have the operation run by the book--and failing that, to have things his way at all costs. The film's storyline narrows down to a battle of egos between Groves and atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz), in his own way as contentious and childishly single-purposed as the general. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this episode of This Life, Egg (Andrew Lincoln) becomes emotionally involved in the case of a man named McCleary (Simon Kunz) who believes his cancer is the result of drugs he was given as a child. At Anna's urging, Miles (Jack Davenport) agrees to take on the Sharingham case -- a high-profile trial involving alleged securities fraud. Much to the consternation of Warren (Jason Hughes), Kira (Luisa Bradshaw-White) gets a temp assignment at Moore, Spencer, Wright. Delilah (Charlotte Bicknell) annoys Anna (Daniela Nardini), pretends to be a model/writer, rummages through people's rooms when they aren't home, and engages in bulimic eating binges; when Warren offers a sympathetic ear, she suckers him into loaning her money to get to a non-existent Continental modeling gig, then spends the money on drugs with Truelove (Keith-Lee Castle). Miles, however, refuses to see what Delilah is up to -- even after the house is mysteriously burgled. Season one, episode three of the cult-favorite British soap, This Life: Living Dangerously first aired on BBC 2 on April 1, 1996. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In this episode of This Life, Milly (Amita Dhiri) deals with the repercussions of her almost-affair with O'Donnell (David Mallinson). As she confesses her sense of disappointment and rejection to Anna (Daniela Nardini), she learns of Anna's liaison with Jerry (Paul Copley). Egg (Andrew Lincoln) becomes enraged when he learns even half-truths about Milly's attraction to O'Donnell. At a counseling session with Warren's therapist (Gillian McCutcheon), Egg promises Milly that he'll leave her if she ever sleeps with another bloke. Anna and Jerry go out for a night of clubbing, but Anna's meeting with an Ecstasy dealer comes back to haunt her professionally -- until she turns the situation on its head. Kira (Luisa Bradshaw-White) is incensed to learn that Dale (Mark Lewis Jones) wants nothing to do with Warren (Jason Hughes); she confronts her cousin, but Dale refuses to come around. Jerry's agent tells him his novel is destined to be a best-seller. During the large, impromptu house party that follows, Egg and Milly make up -- and Miles and Anna hook up. The 11th and final episode of the first season of the cult-favorite British soap This Life: Let's Get It On first aired on BBC 2 on June 3, 1996. This Life would return for 21 more episodes in 1997. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In this episode of This Life, dishes pile up in the kitchen sink and conflicts proliferate. Miles (Jack Davenport) and Anna (Daniela Nardini) commiserate about their problems: his issues with the Sharingham case and her issues with having no cases at all. Later, when Montgomery (Michael Elwyn) shows up at the house looking for his son, Anna tells him to stay away and let Miles prove himself. When Montgomery suddenly decides to testify on Sharingham's behalf, Hooperman (Geoffrey Bateman) takes Miles off the case. Egg (Andrew Lincoln) continues his aimless unemployment and dabbles in writing a novel. When Milly (Amita Dhiri) learns that he's been less than forthright about his job search, or lack thereof, she opens up emotionally to O'Donnell (David Mallinson) about her emotional -- and financial -- frustration. Kira (Luisa Bradshaw-White) tries to get Warren (Jason Hughes) to open up to Dale (Mark Lewis Jones), but he refuses to do anything but share a few polite drinks with his brother. Meanwhile, at work, Warren outs himself to a client (Nicholas Palliser) who is divorcing his wife for having a lesbian affair. Legal clerk Jo (Steve John Shepherd) takes the penniless Anna out for a cocktail and they end up engaging in torrid sex in Miles' office. Jo feels hurt and bewildered when she writes the encounter off as a one-night thing. Season one, episode seven of the cult-favorite British soap This Life: Brief Encounter first aired on BBC 2 on April 29, 1996. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide