A ransom plot, your ex's dad, and a love triangle on a barge—British cinema went feral in '68.
Peter can't get over his ex-girlfriend Elsa even though they broke up over a year ago. He spends all his time on a barge owned by his friend John and John's younger brother Colin. One morning Peter, John and Colin see a middle aged man, Clive, fall out of a motor cruiser into the water. They rescue him and decide to ransom him for £1,000. Peter and Elsa are-reunited but Elsa then commences an affair with Colin. Clive turns out to be Elsa's father.
Acting
Pleasence plays captive like he's running the show.
Production
Grimy barge setting that reeks of desperation.
Writing
The father reveal lands like a gut punch.
Director
David Hart
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bruce Robinson later wrote 'Withnail and I'—you can feel the same toxic male friendship DNA here.
This bombed in '68 because audiences wanted 'Oliver!' optimism, not barge-dwelling emotional ruin. Their loss.
GB
US
