''We Are the Lambeth Boys'' is a 1959 British documentary film directed by

Karel Reisz Karel Reisz (21 July 1926 – 25 November 2002) was a Czech-born British filmmaker, one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Two of the best-known films he directed are ''Saturday Night and Sun ...

. Filmed in the summer of 1958, it was sponsored by the Ford motor company as part of a 'Look at Britain' series. ''Lambeth Boys'' was one of the last films to be made by the

Free Cinema Free Cinema was a documentary film movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the mid-1950s. The term referred to an absence of propagandised intent or deliberate box office appeal. Co-founded by Lindsay Anderson (but he later disdained the ' ...

movement, and offered a sympathetic portrait of the lives of young working-class people in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

Plot

The film focuses on the lives and feelings of the young people who attend Alford House Youth Club in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

, South London. Filmed in a naturalistic way, the protagonists behave as if they are not being filmed at all. ''Lambeth Boys'' features life in the youth club, from dance nights to discussion groups, and life outside the youth club; work in postal sorting offices and factories, time spent with one another on the Kennington Lane estate or in a

chip shop Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...

after a night out. Cricket also features in the documentary; boys practising cricket in the yard of the youth club and then an annual cricket match between the Alford House Youth Club and

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist me ...

, played on a cricket field at the North London public school whose alumni association sponsored the Kennington youth club. After the match the boys are driven home on the back of a truck. They travel through the West End, singing songs and calling out to passers-by.

Music

Jazz musicians Johnny Dankworth and His Orchestra provided the soundtrack for the film.

Release

''Lambeth Boys'' won the Grand Prix at the Tours Festival Of Short Film in December 1959. The song ''

Spring-Heeled Jim "Spring-Heeled Jim" is a song by British musician Morrissey from his 1994 album ''Vauxhall and I''. The title may well be based upon Spring-heeled Jack, a semi-fantastical character from English folklore, alleged sightings and lurid press reports s ...

'' by English singer, songwriter and author

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

(released in 1994 on the album ''

Vauxhall and I ''Vauxhall and I'' is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock musician Morrissey. It was released on 14 March 1994, by the record label Parlophone in the UK and Sire/Reprise in the US. Background The album's title may be a refer ...

'') contains dialogue from the film. 1959 films British documentary films Cultural history of the United Kingdom Films directed by Karel Reisz 1959 documentary films Documentary films about London British short films London Borough of Lambeth Films scored by John Dankworth 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{UK-documentary-film-stub