The Boys (1962 British film)

The Boys is a 1962 British courtroom drama film, directed by Sidney J. Furie and with a screenplay by Stuart Douglass.[1]

The Boys
Directed bySidney J. Furie
Produced bySidney J. Furie
Written byStuart Douglass
StarringRichard Todd
Robert Morley
Felix Aylmer
Music byThe Shadows
CinematographyGerald Gibbs
Edited byJack Slade
Production
company
Atlas Productions
Galaworldfilm Productions
Distributed byGala Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
September 1962 (UK)
Running time
123 min.
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Although a very well-constructed plot it fails to explain how the four boys came to be accused in the first place as all evidence is circumstantial. Regardless of this it cleverly builds empathy for the boys, implying innocence.

Plot

Four youths, described frequently but incorrectly as teddy boys, are on trial for the murder of a garage night watchman in the course of a burglary on the night of January 15.

Witnesses and the accused give differing accounts of the lead-up to the crime, a dispiriting and frustrating evening out in London. Flashbacks of the teenagers' insecure and sometimes alienated lives contrast strongly with the austere legality of the courtroom as, by degrees, the truth emerges.

The film acts as a series of vignettes, relating to the evidence of each witness, who saw the boys on the evening in question. Each story helps to build an overall picture of their character. The overall ambience is that adults presumed they were bad without basing this on any actual observation.

Most witnesses admit they prejudged the boys' character based on appearance.

The boys admit to their defence that they are hooligans and badly behaved but deny murder.

After seeing a series of views representing the witnesses we then see a boy-by-boy insight into their home lives. We see Stan first, whose mum is very ill and they are trying to get rehoused. Stan has a habit of constantly cleaning his fingernails with a flick-knife: a knife identical to the murder weapon.

Barney is questioned next. He is the most clean-cut of the group.

Ginger is the only one working (on a building site). Despite being the one with the most money he is the most reserved.

Much of the storyline revolves around the Three Aces public house which was opposite the Lantern Garage where the murder occurred.

A lot of the plot explains the suspicious words witnesses heard them say.

However, the prosecution spot a flaw in the overall logic of their stories: Stan says he bought a packet of cigarettes for his mum after a point where he did not even have the bus fare home. The sad truth is revealed: Stan did indeed instigate the robbery, and was joined by Billy and Barney. Ginger was unaware of any of this.

Ginger is acquitted. Billy and Barney are under 18 and are to be held indefinitely at her Majesty's pleasure. Stan, being 18, is sentenced to death.

Cast

Uncredited

Soundtrack

The Shadows composed four songs for the film that were released as an EP.

Critical reception
  • bbc.co.uk called it an "innovative kitchen-sink drama charting the rise of teenage gang culture." [2]
  • TV Guide noted "good performances all around, but the effect is muddled by a complicated flashback structure." [3]
  • AllMovie wrote "The Boys benefits from Furie's dextrous use of flashbacks during the testimony scenes." [4]

Legacy

On 17 September 2017, the 55th anniversary of the film's release, the three surviving "boys", Conrad, Garnett and Sutton, met for a reunion showing of the film at Elstree Studios where the courtroom scenes were filmed. It was explained at the Q&A section of the event that this was the first time any of the four had met since the film was made.[5]

References
  1. "The Boys (1962) | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  2. "The Summer of British Film - The Boys". BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  3. "The Boys Trailer, Reviews and Schedule for The Boys | TVGuide.com". Movies.tvguide.com. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  4. "The Boys (1962) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  5. http://talkingpicturestv.co.uk/video/boys-event-elstree-studios/
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