Les bas quartiers

As someone who was born and brought up in Battersea in the 60's and 70's I can certainly attest that the tone of the film is spot-on.

Battersea was then a very working-class and rather depressed district, despite counting the very wealthy areas of Westminster and Chelsea as near neighbors. Today the difference is barely noticeable; then it hit one in the face.

Given the politics of the day, when unions were strong, the Communist Party of Great Britain still had a respectable face, and protests against the Vietnam War were taking place, the idea of a well-off young woman moving to south London to 'see things for herself' is not odd at all. Nowadays of course, it's the done thing to move to run down areas in the hope of seeing property prices rise.....

The film should be appreciated for what it is, a well-acted, involving and accurate snapshot of a less glamorous place and time in "Swinging 60's" London. About as good as you'll get without a time machine.

Peter Collinson was already mellowing after his directorial debut with the incredibly nasty home invasion film 'The Penthouse' (1967); and let loose on Nell Dunn's stories in Technicolor with Manfred Mann on the soundtrack was obviously going to turn in a very different film from Ken Loach's 'Wednesday Play' of 1965.

What seemed like gritty realism in 1967 today seems as remote as the world evoked by Dickens (complete with Jewish stereotypes which really date it). Maureen Lipman is almost unrecognisably young and it's always good to see Adrienne Posta and Liz Fraser (who share a literally gut-renching sequence after the former has an abortion performed by a drunken Hylda Baker).

But the real star is Battersea power station, looming in the background back in the days when it was still permitted to smoke.

Though justifiably not considered a particularly important British film of the late sixties, "Up The Junction" has much genuine charm and remains a film for which I have a lot of affection.

Written by Nell Dunn, who specialized in portraying working class life, the characters are well drawn and brought to life with much conviction by a fine cast, some of whom have lasted and some who somehow faded away.

Whereas leading man Dennis Waterman went on to a long career in both television and on the stage, the lovely Suzy Kendall, who seemed to be headed towards becoming the next Julie Christie, proceeded to an undistinguished career. There's a touching chemistry between the pair.

Likewise the strong supporting players have had varied careers. The pairing of Maureen Lipman and Andrienne Posta was so successful in this film, that there was talk of them becoming a comedy team. Like Waterman, Lipman has been a regular on television and the stage, while Posta simply vanished.

"Up the Junction" too has vanished into obscurity, without even a video release. It's odd that while other far lesser British movies of the same period have been kept alive, this small but very appealing work should suffer such a fate.

This is one of my all time favourite films. OK so the plot is not fantastic ( certainly better than some of the same era !! ), but anyone who loves the 60's will revel in its nostalgia, the cars, the buildings, the fashions.... simply superb!, it all harks back to a much more simpler, although harder way of life. I was born in the 60's & love the 50's/60,s era, this film started my interest in films of this time, so if you love this film then also see :- A KIND OF LOVING. LONELINESS OF A LONG DISTANCE RUNNER. POOR COW. LEATHER BOYS. CATHY COME HOME. Saturday NIGHT , Sunday MORNING. SMASHING TIME. HERE WE GO ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH. BILLY LIAR. A TASTE OF HONEY. SPARROWS CANT SING. GIRL WITH GREEN EYES. A KID FOR 2 FARTHINGS. TO SIR WITH LOVE. So close the curtains, put the cat out, turn the lights off & watch this film.... you will be hooked, i promise !

This movie had a profound effect on me when I first craned my neck to see it from the front row of the Haymarket cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne. I was sixteen years old and on date with a guy that had a rich father, a triumph spitfire and the personality of deadwood. I fell deeply in love with Suzy Kendall knowing that it should have been Dennis Waterman. I saw this movie every night for two weeks. It captures those times exquisitely, almost painfully. I just need to hear the opening theme to be transported back. The clash of cultures, the poverty on both sides of the class divide. Polly had money but was surrounded by shallowness and snobbery. Her friends up the junction had loyalty, camaraderie and fun, but struggled to survive, scamming their way from pay day to pub, who was the poorer? Manfred Mann's excellent score insinuates it's way into the fabric of the movie, haunting and evocative. Give this one a chance, you won't regret it.