That'll Be The Day

1973

1h 27m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

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1 Video

3 Images

Music

Drama

Britain, 1958. Restless at school and bored with his life, Jim leaves home to take a series of low-level jobs at a seaside amusement park, where he discovers a world of cheap sex and petty crime. But when that world comes to a shockingly brutal end, Jim returns home. As the local music scene explodes, Jim must decide between a life of adult responsibility or a new phenomenon called rock & roll.

Directors

Claude Whatham

Writers

Ray Connolly(writer by)

Stars

David Essex

Ringo Starr

James Booth

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Videos1

Featurette
Watch THAT'LL BE THE DAY - Interview With David Puttnam

Photos3

Top cast

Jim MacLaine

Mike

Mr MacLaine

Mrs. MacLaine

Stormy Tempest

Jeanette Sutcliffe

Terry Sutcliffe

J.D. Glover

Sandra

Doreen

Mrs Sutcliffe

Charlotte

Jack

Johnny

Shirley

Young Jim MacLaine

Jean

Granddad

Directors

Claude Whatham

Writers

Ray Connolly(writer by)

All cast & crew

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User reviews2

Review

Featured review

6/10

'Jim MacLaine" (David Essex) is a restless teenager in 1950s Britain. He leaves home and best friend "Terry" (Robert Lindsay) and gets a cheap room at a seaside resort when he makes a living renting out deck chairs - not the most fulfilling job as the rain pours down! He's quite a bright lad, though, and despite his increasing penchant for one-night-stands, he realises that he must sort out his future - and with a bit of help from new-found friend "Mike" (Ringo Starr) a career in music becomes his goal. It's not very realistic, no - serendipity plays an unlikely hand all too often as this young man manages to swim against the tide of mediocrity just a little too successfully, but as a piece of social commentary set against a backdrop of limited post-war opportunities for young folk it has some resonance, Essex is an handsome man and plays the cheeky, troubled, character well and, of course, we get to see Mr. Starr's posterior tattoo! This film is not great, indeed it's not really very good - but it moves along well enough and features a soundtrack that gets your toes tapping too.

Geronimo196710 Nov, 2022