''The Knowledge'' is a 1979

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

about a group of men and a woman doing "

The Knowledge Taxis are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about the regula ...

", the training required to become a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

taxi driver. It was directed by Bob Brooks with an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

including

Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom ''Yes Minister'' and the Cabinet Secre ...

Mick Ford Mick Ford (born 1 August 1952) is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his portrayal of intellectual convict Archer in the cinema version of ''Scum (film), Scum''. Early life and education Ford was born on 1 August 19 ...

Jonathan Lynn Jonathan Adam Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English film director, screenwriter, and actor. He directed the comedy films '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', '' My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He also co-created and co-wrote the ...

and

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, columnist and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

Plot

Four out of work

ers apply to do "The Knowledge" to become London taxi drivers. They have to contend with learning approximately 15,842 streets and 468 set routes as well as Mr Burgess, a notoriously sadistic examiner from the Public Carriage Office.

Cast

as Mr Burgess *

as Chris Matthews * Kim Taylforth as Janet *

as Ted Margolies *

David Ryall David John Ryall
Retrieved 28 December 2014 (5 January 1935 – 25 December 201 ...

as Titanic *

Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series '' Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated fo ...

as Gordon Weller *

as Brenda Weller *

Lesley Joseph Lesley Diana Joseph (born 14 October 1945) is an English actress and broadcaster, whose career on stage and screen spans over fifty years. She is best known for playing Dorien Green in the television sitcom ''Birds of a Feather (TV series), Bir ...

as Val *

Gary Holton Gary Frederick Holton (22 September 1952 – 25 October 1985) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He was the frontman of the band Heavy Metal Kids (1972–1977), worked with Casino Steel (1981–1984), and played the part of ...

as Eddie Hairstyle * June Watson as Lilian * Philippa Howell as Miss Stavely *

Derek Deadman Derek Deadman (11 March 1940 – 22 November 2014) was an English character actor who appeared in numerous British films and television series for 38 years. Family Born 11 March 1940 in Fulham, London, Derek Deadman was one of the three sons o ...

as Man in Dole queue *

Derek Benfield Derek Benfield (11 March 1926 – 10 March 2009) was a British playwright and actor. He was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, and educated at Bingley Grammar School. He was the author of the stage farce ''Running Riot'' and pla ...

as Football Driver

Production

In 1978

Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original television plays, featur ...

received a telephone call from Bob Brooks, an American who had lived in London for many years, wanting to make a film about something "exclusive to London". After some discussion they decided on "

", the training and testing required to become a driver of a

hackney carriage A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common sight on t ...

. They initially pitched the idea to

Euston Films Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network. Euston ...

as a feature-length drama before settling on the concept of a comedy drama. Executive producer

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of t ...

agreed to commission a 90-minute television film, despite reservations that Rosenthal and Brooks would struggle working together. Rosenthal researched the story by accompanying taxi drivers around London to collect their stories about doing The Knowledge. Lambert later recalled "Jack Rosenthal and Bob Brooks had this good ideait was Bob's idea and Jack wrote it." It was the first production by Euston Films to make use of

Steadicam Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizer mounts for motion picture cameras invented by Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation. The Steadicam brand was acquired by Tiffen in 2000. It was designed to isolate the ...

. In his autobiography, Rosenthal describes

as "such a lovely actor" who "gives a superlative, unforgettable comic performance as Mr Burgess, based on a real-life, notoriously sadistic examiner".

Reception

When shown in 1995 on

Channel Four Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded entirely by its commer ...

during a

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

tribute, film historian Geoff Phillips described it as "certainly the best TV play Britain has ever produced". In 2000 it was voted #83 in the

BFI TV 100 The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best British television programmes of any ...

Accolades

''The Knowledge'' was nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

in the category Television, Best Single Play in 1980.

Theatrical version

A theatrical adaptation of the film, directed by

, was staged at the Charing Cross Theatre in London, running from 4 September through 11 November 2017. The cast included Steven Pacey as Mr Burgess.

References

External links

*
''The Knowledge''
at BFI

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and tele ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowledge 1979 films 1979 comedy films Films about taxis 1970s English-language films 1970s British films British comedy television films