This Is My Street

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.

"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.

This as an untypical Peter Rogers production with the exception of one thing,the music.Composed by Eric Rogers you can hear the Carry on themes in it.At the time Ian Hendrey was at the peak of his stardom.Alas drink would ruin his career and he would die young.In this film he is effectively nasty.Mind you most of the characters are unpleasant,and none are better of at the end of the film.One notable feature of this film is the extensive use of South London locations.There is a lot less traffic then..I would guess that this film would have earned an X certificate,however this film is pretty tame by today's standards.

This film could have been potentially interesting, if only the story wasn't so boring and confusing. I felt I was watching a bunch of scenes cobbled together and with no sense of continuity. I soon lost interest. There is a very good cast at hand but they can't do much with a poor storyline. Ian Hendry and June Ritchie do quite well and at least there's a bit of on-screen chemistry between them. A very young John Hurt has nothing to do and is restricted to a few meaningless minutes of screen time. It's best to avoid this one.

Ian Hendry plays a role that would have probably better fit a more downright handsome Laurence Harvey, but he does have the right amount of scoundrel charm that's initially fully-loaded towards pretty married June Ritchie, who definitely has a kid... In fact she and loose lodger Hendry consummate after both take time finding her...

But while there are a fair number of scenes with June's bored, jobless husband Mike Pratt, they really don't seem all that married... and either way there's zero chemistry between the actors...

On the other hand, as the film opens, Ian and June's Harry and Margery are the perfect couple in both age and looks, so their inevitable romantic twist is hardly daring... That's left to the second act as June's younger, spunkier lookalike college-aged sister Annette Andre turns up and gets the full-press treatment...

As predictable soap operatic romance ensues and IS initially intriguing... in fact both affairs (little sis dates a snobby doctor who may soon be her fiance) have the right kind of "how far will this flirtation go" mystique...

But the far more interesting character's kept on the side, a neighboring b-story's b-girl brunette (contrasting the blonde leads) in Philippa Gail, having an affair with a random married man while hit-on by greasy spoon co-worker John Hurt...

And, overall, THIS IS MY STREET does effectively use the titular location that includes the usual bleak B&W "kitchen sink drama" streets, huddled housing and even a bombed-out scrapyard...

What's lacking in the romance department is RISK. Without any real MALE obstacles, our boy Hendry basically seems like a single dude sharking after single girls.