This Is My Street

"This Is My Street" is an example of the social realist kitchen sink dramas that were popular in the British cinema during the late fifties and sixties. The phrase "kitchen sink" originated in the visual arts, where it was used to describe the work of painters such as John Bratby, but it was quickly taken up by critics to describe the novels and plays of writers such as John Osborne, John Braine, Alan Sillitoe and Stan Barstow, works which were frequently turned into films. This film also has a literary source, this case a novel by Nan Hayward. Most kitchen sink films had a young man at their centre, but here the nearest the film has to a protagonist is a woman, Marge Graham.

Marge is a young working-class housewife from Battersea, the area of South London featured in Ken Loach's television play "Up the Junction", also made in 1964. The "street" of the title is Jubilee Place, a row of terraced houses. The film also touches upon the lives of some of the street's other inhabitants, especially Marge's mother Lily who lives next door to her, Lily's lodger Harry, and another neighbour, the good-time-girl Maureen. Marge's husband Sid is an unambitious layabout whose main occupation is drinking in the pub with his mates, and she thinks she could do better. Mr Fingus, the lecherous old manager at the shop where she works, is always making advances towards her, but she has her sights fixed on Harry, just as lecherous as Mr Fingus but younger and better looking. Harry owns a nightclub and drives a flashy car, which gives him a certain status in the eyes of an impressionable girl like Marge. (What is never really explained is why Harry, who is obviously not short of cash, cannot find any better accommodation than the small spare bedroom in Lily's little terrace house).

Harry, however, is no more able to remain faithful to Marge any more than Marge is able to remain faithful to Sid, and when Harry meets Marge's younger sister Ginny he turns his attentions to her, even though Ginny already has a boyfriend, a young doctor named Paul. A sub-plot deals with Maureen's affair with a wealthy married dentist, Mark.

Some kitchen sink films- "A Taste of Honey", "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", "A Kind of Loving", "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner", "Alfie"- have become classics of the British cinema. "This Is My Street" has not and remains little known today. Most of the better known kitchen sinks had a big-name star- Alan Bates, Albert Finney, Michael Caine- in the main role, but there is nobody of a similar status here. The name most recognisable to modern film buffs will probably be that of a young, pre-stardom John Hurt, but he only has a relatively minor role as Charlie, a work colleague of Maureen's and Mark's rival for her affections. The best acting performance probably comes from Ian Hendry as Flash Harry. (Hendry probably could have become a major star if it were not for his health problems, especially alcoholism). June Ritchie as Marge is not as good here as she had been in her film debut as Ingrid (a more sympathetic character than Marge) in "A Kind of Loving".

As a contemporary review in the Monthly Film Bulletin noted, the film is "overloaded with sub-plot". The main characters seem to be Marge and Harry, and the film might have been better if it had concentrated on the Marge/Harry/Sid triangle. The addition of Ginny and Paul to the triangle, making it a pentagon, seems to have been done in order to make some comments on class differences; one of the reasons why Harry prefers Ginny to her sister (apart from his love of novelty) is that she is more educated and works in a middle-class profession as a teacher. Paul is always polite to Ginny and her family, but finds it hard to hide his distaste for Harry, whom he calls a "barrow boy". As for the Maureen/Mark sub-plot, that might have been better omitted.

"This Is My Street" is not the weakest of the kitchen sinks: it is, for example, rather better than something like "Bitter Harvest" from the previous year, which seems curiously unfinished, as though a couple of reels of film had gone missing and not been replaced. It is, however, not one of the classics of the genre, and the neglect into which it has fallen is perhaps not undeserved. 6/10.

In the 1950's and 1960's UK cinema became more gritty and realistic. It examined the human cost of relationships focussing on the fact that people can get hurt.

"This is my Street" pulls no punches: Marge has lived in Jubilee Terrace all her life and wants to get out. She is married to Sid who is happy to pop down to the pub for a few beers and a game of darts – he sets his targets pretty low. Bad boy Harry rents a room next door (from Marge's mum) and provides the potential escape Marge dreams of. But does Harry want love or just sex? Marge has a pretty sister who pops along midway through the film, she seems to be well set – will her dreams be dashed? Down the street is Maureen who is happy to provide the sex but expects something permanent. But does her lover just want sex or does he want love? This film was made 50 years ago and some of its topics must have been challenging at the time.

Ian Hendry's unsympathetic portrayal of Harry must have been difficult to take in the 1960s. Quite possibly realistic but not the sort of manner the public would want to face up to.

June Ritchie gets under your skin as Marge. You want to like her but she also presents an unsympathetic profile. In fact few of the leads come out with any sympathy which I guess was the intention of the makers. Jubilee Terrace is a metaphor for life in general – we all have our dreams, sometimes these come true but other times we get a kick in the teeth and fall back into line.

I think the film still rings true today. We all have our aspirations. This is rather a blunt way of showing how we can be disappointed.

Although preceding it by a couple of years, this film reminded me of Alfie. I thought the attitude towards women in Alfie was a one off, but apparently not. For Alfie read Harry. Flash Harry (Ian Hendry) His attitude towards women is use them and leave them, but the thing I don't get is why the women all seem seemed willing to prostitute themselves for a smooth talker, money and/or a good time (or all of the above!) Four women fall into this category in this film, surely women of that time were not so shallow and promiscuous. Also, were the two husbands concerned really so naïve as not to see what was going on right under their noses, and the mother come to that. I shudder to think what message this film sent out to the young people of the time watching in the cinema. Anyway, it is a good period piece with lots of footage of South London and Routemaster buses! The picture quality and sound was good, unlike films a few years earlier.

This slice of so-called British realism came after a slew of really outstanding kitchen-sink dramas and was really something of a let-down. As directed by the lack-lustre Sidney Hayers it's more of a throwback to the British films of the forties and fifties, watchable certainly but nothing to get excited about. It's also let down by the highly inadequate performance of the pretty but vacant June Ritchie, cast here as the unhappily married housewife seduced by randy neighbour Ian Hendry. He's excellent, certainly a lot better than his material. However, none of the supporting cast, including a very young John Hurt, make much of an impression.

What Stands out in this movie for me is the Eric Rogers music, he did all the music for the carry on films, and it's so distinctive in this, sometimes sounds like a comedy, but he gets away with it, adds a style which is so 1960's. Love these British dramas, as many agree they have more story power and character than a lot modern films, and it's always charming to see London in a different light, how it's changed so much since then, filmed in south London nr Clapham. Good film, fully recommend it if you like B&w British class.