''Charlie Bubbles'' is a 1968 British

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

directed by

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining fame for movie acting during the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' ( ...

(in his feature directorial debut) and starring Finney, Billie Whitelaw and

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

. The screenplay was by Shelagh Delaney. A writer returns to his home city after achieving success in London.

Plot

Successful writer Charlie Bubbles glides around in a gold Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III convertible – CB 1E. Reminded by a phone call from his ex-wife Lottie that he has promised to take their son Jack to a football match, Bubbles sets off from London with his secretary Eliza to drive to Manchester. The next day he drives to Lottie's farm, and it becomes obvious that visits are few and far between. Father and son go to a football match and eat hotdogs from their private box at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. An old school friend turned newspaper reporter enters the box and they chat awkwardly for a few moments. The film then sharply cuts to scenes outside the stadium where Bubbles is desperately looking for Jack, who has gone missing. Bubbles returns in panic to the farm without the boy, driving the Rolls erratically and stopping to vomit on the way, only to find Jack has made his own way home. Next morning Bubbles awakes to find a large red balloon moored near the farm. He climbs into the basket and drifts away.

Cast

as Charlie Bubbles * Colin Blakely as Smokey Pickles * Billie Whitelaw as Lottie Bubbles *

as Eliza * Timothy Garland as Jack Bubbles * Richard Pearson as accountant * Nicholas Phipps as agent *

Peter Sallis Peter John Sallis (1 February 1921 – 2 June 2017) was an English actor. He was the original voice of Wallace in the Academy Award-winning '' Wallace & Gromit'' films and played Norman "Cleggy" Clegg in ''Last of the Summer Wine'' from its 1 ...

as solicitor *

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

as Mr. Noseworthy *

Margery Mason Margery Eileen Mason (27 September 1913 – 26 January 2014) was a British actress and director. She was the artistic director of The Repertory Theatre in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland in the 1960s. Career Mason played Sarah Steven ...

as Mrs. Noseworthy *

Diana Coupland Betty Diana Coupland (5 March 1928 – 10 November 2006), billed as Diana Coupland, was an English actress and singer, best remembered for her role, which she played from 1971 to 1976, in the sitcom '' Bless This House'', as Jean Abbott, wife ...

as Maud *

George Innes George Innes (born 8 March 1938) is a British actor. Stage career George Innes was born in Wapping, Stepney, East London on 8 March 1938, and he began his career on the stage with the Royal National Theatre, National Theatre of Great Britain ...

as garage attendant * Arthur Pentelow as man with car * Alan Lake as airman *

Yootha Joyce Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 – 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom '' Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and its spin-off '' George ...

as woman in café * Wendy Padbury as woman in café *

Susan Engel Susan Engel (born 25 March 1935) is a British actress. She was born in Vienna, Austria. Career Theatre Engel's work in theatre includes: ''Angels in America'' (1992), ''Richard III (play), Richard III'', ''King Lear'' (1990), ''The Good Perso ...

as nanny

Release

It was screened at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival on the 11th, just before the festival was called off due to the events of

May 1968 in France May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...

Critical response

Although the film received critical acclaim, it was not a commercial success in Britain. Finney blamed this on what he regarded as a mishandled and much-delayed release by Rank Film Distributors. ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Everything is in a continuous present, without perspective; and despite the actual journey, the film is more a journey of inner discovery, the motorway a mysterious tunnel, the locations like vivid dream pictures. In this setting, the film explores a series of relationships – some casual, some transient, one deep. And as in a comparable study of a circle of relationships, ''Le Feu Follet'', each character just eludes the central figure. But ''Charlie Bubbles'' avoids diagnosis; and its integrity is clearest in the treatment of the relationship between Charlie and Lottie. Here everything possible has long been said, yet the brief, flat exchanges emerge charged with recollection and irony ... Despite occasional lapses with enigma and stylisation for its own sake, as in the motorway café sequence, Albert Finney has made a promising debut as a director." In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review, critic Renata Adler praised the film, which she called "a becalmed '' Blow-Up''" and "a completely honest and original thing." She also added: "The ending, a low key absurdist touch, is as quiet, beautifully made and carefully thought out as the rest."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

said: "A little arid and slow in the early stages, and with a rather lame end ... this is nevertheless a fascinating character study with a host of wry comedy touches and nimbly sketched characters; in its unassuming way it indicts many of the symbols people lived by in the sixties." ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Rich in resonances of the era." Alexander Walker wrote: "The trouble with Charlie Bubbles is that the character is an extremely passive type. All the other people in the film are seen or felt by him."

Home media

The film was released on DVD in September 2008, and on Blu-ray in November 2018.

Accolades

Whitelaw won a 1969

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in ''Charlie Bubbles'' and '' Twisted Nerve''.

References

External links

*
''Charlie Bubbles''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* * {{Shelagh Delaney 1968 films 1968 comedy-drama films British comedy-drama films Films directed by Albert Finney Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films set in Manchester Films set in London Films shot in London Films shot in Greater Manchester 1968 directorial debut films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films English-language comedy-drama films