All the Right Noises

For the Thunder album, see All the Right Noises (album).

All the Right Noises
US film poster
Directed byGerry O'Hara
Written byGerry O'Hara
Produced byJohn Quested
Si Litvinoff
StarringOlivia Hussey
Tom Bell
Judy Carne
CinematographyGerry Fisher
Edited byAntony Gibbs
Music byMelanie
Production
companies
Max L. Raab-Si Litvinoff Films
Trigon Productions
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
May 1971 (London)[1]
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

All the Right Noises is a 1971 British romantic drama film directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Tom Bell, Olivia Hussey, Judy Carne and John Standing.[2]

Plot

Len Lewin is a man happily married to his wife Joy and father of two young children, who works as a lighting technician for a theatrical company. Despite his commitment to his family, he sleeps with Val, an actress in the show, who then reveals she is fifteen. Despite this he continues the affair. The young woman believes she might be pregnant but is not. The affair ends amicably and the man's wife never finds out.

Cast

Production

Judy Carne said the film was based on a real-life incident involving Gerry O'Hara's friend Nicholas Roeg. She says Roeg recommended Carne to play Tom Bell's wife as Carne resembled Roeg's wife.[3]

O'Hara said he wrote the film with Tom Bell in mind for the lead role as he was friends with Bell since they made The L Shaped Room together. O'Hara gave the script to Roeg who helped set up the project with Si Litvinoff, who produced Walkabout and was interested making a film in England.[4]

It was the first in a slate of films from Rax Raab and Si Litvinoff that also included Walkabout (1971) and A Clockwork Orange (1971).

Filming began in London in April 1969. It was a nine week shoot and O'Hara said "I had pretty much total creative control, which is very rare." He also said "I love that film... probably my best film."[4]

Release

Although made in 1969 it was not released until 1971.[5]

Critical reception

Variety said the film had "tenuous ties to the angry-young-man school of British filmmaking in the late fifties, but lacks the force, ire and social attitudes. Instead, all concerned seem unconcerned, voices are never raised and the atmosphere remains one of self-consciously “adult” sensibility that generates little dramatic excitement."[5]

The Evening Standard called it "accurate and compelling".[6]

Liverpool Daily Post called it "neatly observed and nicely edited."[7]

Home media

The BFI released All the Right Noises on DVD and Blu-ray through its Flipside strand.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "All the Right Noises (1971) - BFI". AFI.
  2. ^ "All the Right Noises". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  3. ^ Carne, Judy (1985). Laughing on the Outside, Crying on the Inside. Rawson. p. 157.
  4. ^ a b Dixon, Wheeler Winston (3 December 2010). "Working Within the System: An Interview with Gerry O'Hara". Screening the Past.
  5. ^ a b Variety's film reviews. Bowker. 1983. p. 147.
  6. ^ Walker, Alexander (6 May 1971). "Love on tour". Evening Standard. p. 23.
  7. ^ "The Brando Burn Up". Liverpool Daily Post. 15 May 1971. p. 5.
  8. ^ Brandon DuHamel. "All the Right Noises [UK] Blu-ray Review". Blu-rayDefinition.com.

External links