Little Malcolm is a 1974 British comedy drama film directed by Stuart Cooper and starring John Hurt. It is based on David Halliwell's stage play Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs.[1] The play's full name is used as the film title on the BFI Flipside 2011 DVD release.[2]
| Little Malcolm | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Stuart Cooper |
| Written by | David Halliwell (play) Derek Woodward |
| Produced by | George Harrison Gavrik Losey |
| Starring | John Hurt |
| Cinematography | John Alcott |
| Edited by | Ray Lovejoy |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Distributed by | Apple Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
editMalcolm Scrawdyke, a fascist political figure, plots revenge against the college that expelled him by forming the Party of Dynamic Erection, a right-wing political movement, with three acolytes.
Cast
edit- Rosalind Ayres as Ann Gedge
- John Hurt as Malcolm Scrawdyke
- John McEnery as Wick Blagdon
- Raymond Platt as Irwin Ingham
- David Warner as Dennis Charles Nipple
Production
editBackground
editAn Apple Films project, Little Malcolm was the first feature film produced by former Beatle George Harrison.[1]
Like many of Apple's film and recording projects, production on Little Malcolm was then jeopardised by lawsuits pertaining to Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr's severing of ties with manager Allen Klein.[3][4] Speaking in 2011, Cooper said that Harrison "fought for a very long time to extract Little Malcolm from the official receivers", adding that its entry in the Berlin festival was only possible because the festival was an artistic forum and not finance-related.[2]
Shooting
editThe film was shot primarily in Lancashire, in the north of England, during February and March 1973.[5]
Soundtrack
editHarrison supplied incidental music for the soundtrack[2] and, after being introduced to the duo Splinter by their manager Mal Evans, produced their song "Lonely Man" for inclusion in a pivotal scene.[6][7] The soundtrack also featured the band Harpoon singing "Not With You".[8]
Release
editOnce the Beatles' partnership had been formally dissolved, in January 1975, the film received a brief run in London's West End.[9] In February 1983, Harrison donated his personal copy of Little Malcolm to a New York-based company for screening at a local film festival.[10]
Accolades
editAfter what Cooper described as an "incredible" reception at Berlin for "this very British film",[2] Little Malcolm won a gold medal at the Atlanta Film Festival in August 1974.[7] It was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear.[11]
Home media
editIn 2011, the British Film Institute released the film on DVD as part of their flipside strand.
References
edit- ^ a b Clayson, p. 370.
- ^ a b c d Michael Simmons, "Cry for a Shadow", Mojo, November 2011, p. 85.
- ^ Doggett, pp. 204–06.
- ^ Woffinden, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Badman, p. 90.
- ^ Clayson, p. 346.
- ^ a b Badman, p. 129.
- ^ Pop Music in British Cinema: A Chronicle - Page 77 Kevin Donnelly - 2002 Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (1974 Stuart Cooper) Subafilms/Apple Films. P - Gavrik Losey. Exec P - George Harrison. M - Stanley Myers. Song - Harpoon - Not With You. Students set up a terrorist group, semi-comedy.
- ^ Badman, pp. 149, 150.
- ^ Badman, p. 314.
- ^ "Berlinale Archiv Jahresarchive 1974 Preisträger". Retrieved 19 November 2010.
Sources
edit- Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001, Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ISBN 0-7119-8307-0).
- Alan Clayson, George Harrison, Sanctuary (London, 2003; ISBN 1-86074-489-3).
- Peter Doggett, You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup, It Books (New York, NY, 2011; ISBN 978-0-06-177418-8).
- Bob Woffinden, The Beatles Apart, Proteus (London, 1981; ISBN 0-906071-89-5).