No Surrender (film)
No Surrender is a 1985 British comedy film written by Alan Bleasdale, directed by Peter Smith and produced by Mamoun Hassan.
| No Surrender | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Peter Smith |
| Produced by | Mamoun Hassan |
| Written by | Alan Bleasdale |
| Starring | Michael Angelis Bernard Hill Joanne Whalley Ray McAnally Elvis Costello |
| Music by | Daryl Runswick |
| Cinematography | Mick Coulter |
| Edited by | Kevin Brownlow Rodney Holland |
| Distributed by | Circle Films US Palace Pictures/Video UK |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £2.34 million[1] |
Describing the commissioning process, Bleasdale said, "I went to the National Film Finance Corporation and told them I was never going to write Star Wars or Rambo Revisited or anything like that, so I just went ahead and wrote the film I wanted to write".[2]
Plot
On New Year's Eve in Liverpool, Michael (Michael Angelis) becomes the new manager of the Charleston Club, a run-down function hall on an industrial wasteground which, he later discovers, is owned by an organised crime syndicate. He also discovers that the previous manager, MacArthur, in an attempt to spite the hall's owners, has hired it out to two groups of senior citizens for New Year's Eve; one group are hardline Catholics and the other are hardline Protestants, and the entertainment consists of a magician (Elvis Costello) with stage fright, a homosexual comedian (Pete Price) and his boyfriend, a talentless punk band, and a fancy dress competition with a non-existent prize.
The two parties arrive and are joined by another group of senior citizens who are mentally handicapped and suffering from senile dementia. After discovering MacArthur being tortured in a back room by the hall's owners, Michael, along with bouncer Bernard (Bernard Hill) and kitchen porter Cheryl (Joanne Whalley), attempts to keep things in order amid the threat of violence in the air. As the night goes on, however, things start to go wrong; the comedian's routine is badly received, the magician has to pull out because of the death of his rabbit, and the band's poor performance leads to the groups throwing missiles at the stage whilst the band members fight amongst themselves. Meanwhile, things begin to boil over when former Loyalist boxer Billy McCracken (Ray McAnally) strangles on-the-run terrorist Norman Donohue (Mark Mulholland) to death in a toilet cubicle after Norman makes comments about McCracken's daughter "marrying out", and an Orange Order marching band arrives playing sectarian tunes, leading to a mass brawl in the toilets and the discovery of Norman's body. Meanwhile Michael and Cheryl begin singing "If You Need Me" together on stage while Bernard phones the police, who arrive and defuse the situation.
The situation dies down by midnight, and the groups all go their separate ways peacefully. Michael and Cheryl share a kiss, before going back to Cheryl's house together. The film ends with McCracken at home phoning his daughter and asking to speak to his son-in-law, before wishing him a happy New Year.
Cast
- Michael Angelis as Mike
- Avis Bunnage as Martha Gorman
- James Ellis as Paddy Burke
- Tom Georgeson as Mr. Ross
- Bernard Hill as Bernard
- Ray McAnally as Billy McRacken
- Mark Mulholland as Norman
- Joanne Whalley as Cheryl
- J.G. Devlin as George Gorman
- Vince Earl as Frank
- Ken Jones as Ronny
- Michael Ripper as Tony Bonaparte
- Marjorie Sudell as Barbara
- Joan Turner as Superwoman
- Richard Alexander as Smoking Kid
- Pamela Austin as Organist
- Elvis Costello as Rosco de Ville
- Ian Hart as Uncertain Menace
- Joe McGann as 2nd Policeman
- Mark McGann as Rock Group Leader
References
- "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 26.
- Johnston, Trevor (30 May 1986). "Bleasdale Beyond the Blackstuff". The List. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
External links