A Matter of Choice is a 1963 British black and white drama film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Malcolm Gerard, Michael Davis, Anthony Steel, Jeanne Moody and Ballard Berkeley.[3] The screenplay was by Paul Ryder based on an original story by Sewell and Derren Nesbitt.
| A Matter of Choice | |
|---|---|
 Opening titles | |
| Directed by | Vernon Sewell |
| Written by | Paul Ryder |
| Story by | Derren Nesbitt Vernon Sewell |
| Produced by | George Maynard |
| Starring | Malcolm Gerard Michael Davis Anthony Steel Jeanne Moody Ballard Berkeley |
| Cinematography | Arthur Lavis |
| Edited by | Lee Doig |
| Music by | Robert Sharples (composed & conducted by) |
Production company | Holmwood Productions |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 79 minutes[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £23,671[2] |
It was one of a number of low budget British films Steel made in the 1960s while based in Rome.[4]
Plot
editMike and Tony are two youths out looking for girls and entertainment. After a chaotic evening, they accidentally knock a policeman into the path of a car. As they flee the scene the male passenger, John Crighton, runs after them. Mike throws a brick at Crighton and he collapses unconscious. Panicking, they move him to the unlocked garage of a nearby house, owned by businessman Charles Grant, and anonymously call an ambulance. Crighton, a diabetic, subsequently dies in hospital. When the police arrive Grant discovers that his wife Lisa has been having an affaire with Crighton.
Cast
edit- Malcolm Gerard as Mike
- Michael Davis as Tony
- Anthony Steel as John Crighton
- Jeanne Moody as Lisa Grant
- Ballard Berkeley as Charles Grant
- Penny Morrell as Jackie
- Lisa Peake as Jane
- James Bree as Alfred
- George Moon as Spike
- Richard Bebb as waiter
- Garard Green as shopkeeper
- Frank Pettitt as police sergeant
- Frank Shelley as police doctor
Production
editSewell called the film "a disaster":
I had been working with this man and, I had said, "I won't work with you again." And he writes to me, he says, "Look here, I've got a contract, I can make your story, 'Matter of Choice.'" I said, "No, absolutely out, absolutely out!" He said, "Well, would you sell me the script?" I said, "That, I will do," and I sold him the script. Then his wife rings me up and says, "Vernon, I'm in a desperate position. George can't get the film floated without you, and if he doesn't do it, this is our last chance, he's going to kill himself." I should have said, "Well let him do it" but I didn't. I said, "Well now, OK, if I do this, is it going to be, (this, this, this and this?)?" She said, "Yes, it's all wonderful." Of course when I got to it, the sets were terrible, the whole thing was a disaster, disaster. I don't think it appeared at all, I don't think it was ever shown. The idea of the story was good, but, you see, it had to be – he said he had a find, a wonderful new star, and I gave her the sack the first day, couldn't work. Tony Steel was in it and was pissed all the time. Oh it was a disaster... a bloody awful movie, because the thing was buggered up.[5]
Critical reception
editThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This very moral tale, dependent for its dénouement on the thundering coincidence that assembles all five characters in the same mews flat, is slow as a thriller and despite its incursions into social realism, notably in the portrayal of Mike and Tony, unexciting on any other level."[6]
Home media
editThe film was released on DVD, paired with Jungle Street (1960), by Odeon Entertainment in 2008.
References
edit- ^ "A MATTER OF CHOICE | British Board of Film Classification". Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films : An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 7. ISSN 1465-3451.
- ^ "A Matter of Choice". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (23 September 2020). "The Emasculation of Anthony Steel: A Cold Streak Saga". Filmink.
- ^ Fowler, Roy (8 July 1994). "Vernon Sewell". British Entertainment History Project.
- ^ "A Matter of Choice". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 33 (384): 141. 1 January 1966 – via ProQuest.