''She Knows Y'Know'' is a 1962 black and white
British comedy Throughout film, television, and radio, British comedy has become known for its consistently peculiar characters, plots, and settings, and has produced some of the most renowned comedians and characters in the world.
History
British comedy history ...
film directed by
Montgomery Tully
Montgomery Tully (6 May 190410 October 1988) was an Irish film director and writer.
Film career
Born in Dublin, Tully studied at the University of London, and originally entered the film industry as a director of documentaries. Later, Tully wo ...
and starring comedienne
Hylda Baker
Hylda Baker (4 February 1905 – 1 May 1986) was an English comedian, actress and music hall performer. Born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as Nellie Pledge in the Granada ITV sitcom ''N ...
. The film takes its title from Hylda Baker's best known catch-phrase. The
BFI
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
describes the film, which was made on a low-budget, as a "low life comedy, unfolded against an
industrial town
An industrial city or industrial town is a town or city in which the municipal economy, at least historically, is centered around industry, with important factories or other production facilities in the town. It has been part of most countries' i ...
backdrop".
Plot
In the
North of England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
in the 1950s, the lives of two very different families become entwined. The Worswicks are a
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
family led by domineering mother Hylda (Hylda Baker) with husband Joe (Cyril Smith) and academically bright son Leslie (Peter Myers). Neighbours the Smallhopes are aspiring
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
, led by mother Euphemia (Joan Sanderson), husband Clarence (Neil Wilson), with attractive daughter Marilyn (Linda Castle), whose sudden pregnancy is the catalyst for unfolding dramas involving both families.
Cast
*
Hylda Baker
Hylda Baker (4 February 1905 – 1 May 1986) was an English comedian, actress and music hall performer. Born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as Nellie Pledge in the Granada ITV sitcom ''N ...
as Hylda Worswick
*
Cyril Smith
Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...
as Joe Worswick
* Joe Gibbons as Charlie Todger
* Peter Myers as Leslie Worswick
* Linda Castle as Marilyn Smallhope
* Tim Connor as Terry Roy
* Neil Wilson as Clarence Smallhope
*
Joan Sanderson
Joan Sanderson (24 November 1912 – 24 May 1992) was a British television and stage actress born in Bristol. During a long career, her tall and commanding disposition led to her playing mostly dowagers, spinsters and matrons, as well as intens ...
as Euphemia Smallhope
*
Alfred Burke
Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years.
Early life
Born in London's south-east ...
as Mr Fox
*
Lucy Griffiths as Jenny Higginbottom
*
Leonard Sachs
Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor.
Life and career
Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated to ...
as John Dawson
*
Patricia Shakesby
Patricia Shakesby (born 6 November 1942) is an English actress and playwright, best known for her role as Polly Urquhart in ''Howards' Way''. She is also notable for being an original cast member of ''Coronation Street'', in which she played S ...
as Valerie
Critical reception
More recent reception, of the DVD re-issue, has been mixed.
*''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' described it as a "mindless sex comedy...Typical ribald British innuendoes abound."
*
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
described it as a "lively British sex farce."
Restoration
In an article in the ''
Blackpool Gazette
The ''Blackpool Gazette'' (locally marketed as simply ''The Gazette'') is an English daily newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast. It was founded as '' ...
'', Jacqui Morley wrote about the
film restoration
Film preservation, or film restoration, describes a series of ongoing efforts among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images they contain. In the wi ...
by Eurwyn Jones:
References
External links
*
{{Montgomery Tully
1962 films
1962 comedy films
British comedy films
British black-and-white films
British independent films
Films directed by Montgomery Tully
Films scored by Ken Thorne
1960s English-language films
1960s British films