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

Plot

Four youth

Teddy boy The Teddy Boys or Teds were a mainly British youth subculture of the mid 1950s to mid 1960s who were interested in rock and roll and R&B music, wearing clothes partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, which S ...

s 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

Richard Todd Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor n ...

- Victor Webster, prosecuting counsel *

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

- Montgomery, defence counsel * Dudley Sutton - Stan Coulter *

Ronald Lacey Ronald William Lacey (28 September 1935 – 15 May 1991) was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30-year period. His roles included Harris in ''Porridge'' (1977), Frankie in the Bud Spencer comedy '' Ch ...

- William (Billy) Herne *

Tony Garnett Tony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century. Early life and ...

- Jim (Ginger) Thompson * Jess Conrad - Barney Lee * Felix Aylmer - The Judge *

Wilfrid Brambell Henry Wilfrid Brambell (22 March 1912 – 18 January 1985) was an Irish television and film actor, best remembered for playing the grubby rag-and-bone man Albert Steptoe alongside Harry H. Corbett in the long-running BBC television sitcom '' ...

- Robert Brewer (as Wilfred Bramble) *

Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was known for his roles in films such as The Beatles' ''Help!'' (1965), Clapper in '' How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketeer ...

- Mark Samuel (bus conductor) *

Allan Cuthbertson Allan Darling Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was an Australian-born British actor. He was best known for playing stern-faced military officers in British films of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Cuthbertson was born in Perth, ...

- Randolph St. John (as Alan Cuthbertson) * Colin Gordon - Gordon Lonsdale * Wensley Pithey - Mr. Coulter (as Wensley Athey) * Kenneth J. Warren - George Tanner * Patrick Magee - Mr. Lee * David Lodge - Mr. Herne * Mavis Villiers - Celia Barker *

Betty Marsden Betty Marsden (24 February 1919 – 18 July 1998) was an English comedy actress. She is particularly remembered as a cast member of the radio series '' Beyond Our Ken'' and ''Round the Horne''. Marsden also appeared in two Carry On films, ''Carr ...

- Mrs. Herne * Laurence Hardy - Patmore * Charles Morgan - Samuel Wallace *

Carol White Carole Joan White (1 April 1943 – 16 September 1991) was an English actress. She achieved a public profile with her performances in the television play ''Cathy Come Home'' (1966) and the films ''Poor Cow'' (1967) and '' I'll Never Forg ...

- Evelyn May * Patrick Newell - Crowhurst * Rita Webb - Mrs. Lee * Tom Chatto - Morris * Harold Scott - Caldwell * George Moon - Mr. Champneys *

Hilda Fenemore Hilda Lilian Fenemore (22 April 1914 – 13 April 2004) was an English actress with a prolific career in film and television from the 1940s to the 1990s. Fenemore played mainly supporting roles which were characterised in her obituary in ''The ...

- Mrs. Thompson (as Hilda Fennemore) * Lloyd Lamble - Inspector Larner

Uncredited

* Olga Dickie - Mrs. Coulter * Ian Fleming - Court official * Kevin Stoney - Police Inspector who is quizzed by QCs at the Trial * Brian Weske - Club Announcer * Ian Wilson

Soundtrack

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

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 A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

culture." *

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

noted "good performances all around, but the effect is muddled by a complicated flashback structure." * AllMovie wrote "The Boys benefits from Furie's dextrous use of flashbacks during the testimony scenes."

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.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boys, The 1962 films 1962 crime drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films 1960s legal drama films British crime drama films British legal films British courtroom films CinemaScope films Films shot at Associated British Studios Films about capital punishment Films directed by Sidney J. Furie