The Wind of Change

55 years after it was made, 'The Wind of Change' I found to be gripping throughout, not least by it's well handled direction and in particular by a riveting central performance by Johnny Briggs (best known for playing Mike Baldwin in 'Coronation Street' for many years). Not an actor known as a great thespian, nevertheless, here is Briggs in his younger days giving it his all. A stunning performance, full of hatred for black people and his wrongful perception that they are somehow inferior to white people. The other outstanding performance here is by Hilda Fenemore as his mother, who also believed that it was completely unacceptable for her daughter to be going out with a black boy. I'm old enough to remember when these ideas were commonplace in Britain and it's quite shocking to look back and see a film like this today and some of the language used really smacks you in the face because it's been a long time since we've heard stuff like this on the screen. This is a film that seen today will cause great offence to many people but as a historic document it struck me that it is quite important to remind us of how things desperately needed to change in our society at that time in the early sixties. It's not all bad though, and there are other characters who are much more tolerant of the changes they are seeing. Ann Lynn as the daughter and girlfriend of the black boy, and Donald Pleasence as the father ultimately make the decision that evil cannot be tolerated even though it means sacrificing a member of their own family. Perhaps this film is more important now than it was 55 years ago. I hadn't heard of this film before and it made uncomfortable viewing, but isn't that what films should be doing?

Johnny Briggs can't find a job to suit him, and is in a constant seething fury about the racial changes gong on about him. Father Donald Pleasance is a mild fellow, seemingly more interested in the rabbits he raises than anything else. Mother Hilda Fennimore shops with the neighbor and talks constantly, saying nothing. And sister Ann Lynn has been brought home by the police with perhaps a scarring injury on her face when a gang of White boys attacked her and her Black male friend when they were walking to the bus stop.

It's one of those films which offers a problem, but no clear answer to the racism and growing endemic cycle of dead-end jobs in an England which had been promising a lot more. That's all right. Sometimes it's a good start to bring a problem to light. The performances are all solid.

Quite an eye opener for it's day, the racist tone is played full pelt by Johnnie Briggs and his seedy gang. After harassing a black man in their local café they decide to catch him and beat him up but he dies from his injuries, and to add to the plot he had been dating Briggs's sister and she is injured in the fracas.

Rather talky at times with strong London accents it plays like an episode of Eastenders, there is lot's of protective talk from Briggs's mum who dominates the household including Briggs's father played by a rather meek Donald Pleassance.

It's not quite clear how Briggs gets caught but with these short films and low budget you tend to forgive the director for any plot holes.

Lot's of bad jive music and slangy talk in the seedy coffee bar where they hang out gives the film a "Beat Girl" type scenario.

Not only is this racially-charged/socially conscious film a prime example of "Kitchen Sink Dramas" from the early to mid 1960's England, but the rebellious main character literally washes blood off his hands in one...

From the (credited as) "Coloured Boy" who his progressive sister Ann Lynn's contentedly/intrepidly dating in a stage-style story mostly taking place at a small home, where passive patriarch Donald Pleasence spends more time with his rabbits than teenagers. Especially a no-good son, played by squared jawed Johnny Briggs, who doesn't need nor care of him anyway...

As a venom-spouting racist, the future CORONATION STREET soap actor is fitfully intense and edgy in the role...

When not at home he's hanging at the local soda shop where one buddy (David Hemmings) brings and tunes a guitar and another (musician Norman Gunn) sings...

And all get sporadically chewed out by local lass Angela Douglas while the urgency/suspense occurs in the 11th hour, back home, when... as the token pressing cop presses in... dad must choose whether to tell the truth or join frantic wife Hilda Fenemore's cover up of her son's attack/murder the black kid...

Making THE WIND OF CHANGE, despite its bland, common title, far less breezy than the performances leading up to what really matters...

Yet not without bizarre and ambiguous loose ends, like the fact the perfect "sensitive" black boyfriend was actually a cheater, and the idealistic dad's sole black rabbit has the name of... the N-word.

I notice that the early 1960s in Britain was a time for films that really pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable on screen while addressing the burning issues of society at the same time. I've previously watched THE BOYS which tackles the thorny topic of Teddy Boy violence as well as VICTIM exploring homosexuality in a what was then explicit way. THE WIND OF CHANGE is a similar production with the ugly topic of racism at its heart and like a lot of early 1960s film, gang culture plays a big part.

The youthful Johnny Briggs (best known for his long-running role as Mike Baldwin in CORONATION STREET) plays a street thug with a pathological hatred of black men. One day he and his cronies tackle a black guy and beat him to within an inch of his life, only for the police to begin an investigation. Briggs's family life at home is further complicated by his sister's drastically opposed views to his own.

THE WIND OF CHANGE is a rather slow and talky production but the subject matter has never been less than relevant and the actors certainly do it justice. Briggs is excellent as the unlikeable protagonist and Donald Pleasence gives a reliably good turn as his mild-mannered father. There are youthful turns from David Hemmings and Angela Douglas, while Glyn Houston is the investigating detective. THE WIND OF CHANGE is no classic, but its thorough exploration of the subject matter means that it's an important little film nonetheless.