Paddy's in the Carsey (1966)

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Film details

Featuring

The Sugar Beats Howard Blake
Director

John Fletcher
Country

United Kingdom
Year

1966
Type

Film
Category

Non Fiction

Alternative titles

Paddy's in the Carsey (Or Boys' Night Out) Alternative

Introduction

Paddy’s in the Carsey would have been something of a diversion for its director John Fletcher, who mostly worked within the confines of sponsored documentary. He had, though, begun his film career working on experimental shorts, and was a key supporting figure in the progressive Free Cinema documentary movement, where he worked alongside Lindsay Anderson, Tony Richardson and Karel Reisz.

With its naturalistic style (bar the very stylised, Keystone Kops-inspired final sequence) and its commitment to a truthful representation of its working-class subjects, Paddy’s in the Carsey strongly conjures the spirit of Free Cinema, particularly Momma Don’t Allow (1956) and We Are the Lambeth Boys (1959), both of which Fletcher edited. All three films follow groups of London teenagers, but while, say, the Lambeth boys were happy with an orange soda at the Alford Youth Club, seven years on, the Paddington lads’ idea of a good night out invariably involves countless pints of Guinness followed by a punch-up on the dancefloor. As one suggests, “people are just more mature these days than what they used to be”.

Cast & Credits

Cast
- - music performance
    
    The Sugar Beats
  - Piano
    
    Howard Blake
Credits
- Direction:
  - Director
    
    John Fletcher
  Production:
  - Presented by
    
    Dateline Film Productions
  - Presented by
    
    BBC
  - Distributor
    
    Corcord
  Photography:
  - Photography
    
    Louis Wolfers
  Editing:
  - Editor
    
    Nicholas Hale
  - Editor
    
    Marlene Fletcher
  Sound:
  - Sound
    
    Frank Minton