''Some People'' is a 1962 film directed by

Clive Donner Clive Stanley Donner (21 January 1926 – 6 September 2010)Ronald Bergan]Obituary: Clive Donner ''The Guardian'', 7 September 2010 was a British film Film director, director who was part of the British New Wave, directing films such as ''Th ...

. It stars Kenneth More and Ray Brooks and is centred on the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.

Premise

An aircraft engineer, who also acts as a voluntary choirmaster and

youth work Youth work is community support activity aimed at older children and adolescents. Depending upon the culture and the community, different services and institutions may exist for this purpose. In the United Kingdom youth work is the process of cre ...

er (played by Kenneth More) tries to help a group of teenagers in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, by encouraging positive social development after they lose their motorcycle licences. They are all in dead-end jobs with no home life and on the fringes of petty crime, but are musically talented.

Production

The film was shot entirely on location in Bristol with Anneke Wills recalling that the crew arrived in Bristol three weeks before shooting to get the feel of Bristol with the boys learning the local accent, riding motorbikes and visiting local dance halls with much of the script being

ad-libbed In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

. Local filming locations were used including the W.D. & H.O. Wills cigarette factory,

Royal York Crescent Royal York Crescent is a major residential street in Clifton, Bristol. It overlooks much of the docks, and much of the city can be seen from it. It also joins Clifton Village at one end. It is one of the most expensive streets in the city. Nos ...

Clifton Suspension Bridge The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Avon Gorge and the River Avon, linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset. Since opening in 1864, it has been a toll bridge, the income from which provides fun ...

, the Theatre Royal, the Palace Hotel, Bristol South public baths, the city docks, The Portway and

Lockleaze Lockleaze is an area and council ward in the northern suburbs of the city of Bristol, England, north of the city centre, south of Filton, east of Horfield and west of Frenchay. Lockleaze is a residential area of social housing built on the west ...

, with Lockleaze School used for much of the interior filming. Kenneth More agreed to play his role for nothing apart from his expenses because he had no other offers around the time, and the movie was for a good cause: all proceeds were to go to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme who commissioned the film and the National Playing Fields Association. During filming he began an affair with one of the cast, Angela Douglas, who became his wife. The film features a test flight of the Bristol 188.

Cast

* Kenneth More as Mr. Smith * Ray Brooks as Johnnie * Anneke Wills as Anne * David Andrews as Bill * Angela Douglas as Terry *

David Hemmings David Edward Leslie Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor and director. He is best remembered for his roles in British films and television programmes of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the 1966 mystery film ' ...

as Bert * Timothy Nightingale as Tim * Frankie Dymon Jnr as Jimmy *

Harry H. Corbett Harry H. Corbett OBE (28 February 1925 – 21 March 1982) was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'' ( ...

as Johnnie's Father * Fanny Carby as Johnnie's Mother * Richard Davies as Harper *

Michael Gwynn Michael Gwynn (30 November 1916 – 29 January 1976) was an English actor. He attended Mayfield College near Mayfield, Sussex. During the Second World War he served in East Africa as a major and was adjutant to the 2nd (Nyasaland) Battalion ...

as Vicar *

Cyril Luckham Cyril Alexander Garland Luckham (25 July 1907 – 8 February 1989) was an English film, television and theatre actor. He was the husband of stage and screen actress Violet Lamb. Career The son of a paymaster captain in the Royal Navy, Cyril Lu ...

as Magistrate * Valerie Mountain dubbed Angela Douglas's singing voice

Reception

The film reportedly made a profit, in part because of its low cost. The title song was performed in the film by Valerie Mountain and The Eagles. Pye Records released their version as a single. Other versions were released by Carol Deene and the former bass player for

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

, Jet Harris.

References

External links

* 1962 films Films directed by Clive Donner Films scored by Ron Grainer British musical films 1962 musical films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films {{UK-musical-film-stub