The Knack ...and How to Get It

The Knack …and How to Get It
Theatrical poster
Directed by Richard Lester
Produced by Oscar Lewenstein
Written by Charles Wood
Starring Rita Tushingham
Ray Brooks
Michael Crawford
Donal Donnelly
Music by John Barry
Cinematography David Watkin
Edited by Antony Gibbs
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists Corporation
Release date
 3 June 1965 (1965-06-03)
Running time
 85 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $364,000[1][2]
Box office $2.5 million (US)[1]

The Knack …and How to Get It is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Richard Lester and based on the play by Ann Jellicoe. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association. It was also in competition for the Golden Bear at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival.

Plot

The nervous schoolteacher Colin, observing the sexual revolution in London, has little personal sexual experience and wishes to gain "the knack", a way to seduce women. He turns to a friend, an aggressive, womanizing drummer known only by his surname, Tolen. Tolen gives him unhelpful advice to consume more protein and use intuition, acknowledging intuition is not something that can be completely learned, and espouses the importance of domination. He then suggests Colin move into his residence, where he and another friend "share" women. Colin also becomes determined to obtain a larger bed.

While Colin works on his new living arrangements, a young virginal woman named Nancy arrives to London from out of town, searching for the YWCA. She stops by a clothing store and is won over by the flattery of the clerk, until she overhears him repeating the same words to every female customer. While still seeking the YWCA and asking strangers for directions, she sees Colin purchasing a large cast iron bed. She helps Colin and his friends bring the bed to their residence. There, Tolen makes sexual advances on her, and gives her an unwanted kiss, though telling her she will not be "raped" without consent.

In a public space, Tolen pursues Nancy again, and she faints. When she wakes up, she begins claiming she was raped, though this was not the case. Tolen, Colin and their friends find themselves unable to restrain her from loudly repeating the allegations, or slashing the tires of Tolen's motorcycle, and she runs back to the residence, where she breaks Tolen's records and strips naked. The men become convinced her rape allegations reflect fantasy and urge Tolen to have sex with her. When Nancy emerges from the room wearing a robe, she instead expresses more attraction to Colin, and he returns the interest. Some time later, there is gossip that Nancy and Colin will be co-habitating.

Cast

Production

After seeing Ann Jellicoe's play The Knack, the producers envisioned a film adaptation. They offered the position of director to Lindsay Anderson, who refused.[3]

Having worked with The Beatles on A Hard Day's Night, Lester was another candidate for director, and agreed to take the position.[3] Lester made major changes to the play, adding his own touch through direct address, unexpected oddly-edited sequences, humorous subtitles, and a Greek chorus of disapproving members of "the older generation." Filming took place in a few weeks, and Lester employed television advertising techniques.[3] Talking about the film in the 1980s, actor Ray Brooks said:

Lester himself makes a brief cameo as an annoyed bystander. John Barry contributed the jazzy score, which features a memorable organ solo by Alan Haven. Jane Birkin, Charlotte Rampling, and Jacqueline Bisset all made their first cinematic appearances in the film as extras, together with Top of the Pops disc girl Samantha Juste.

Reception

In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther positively reviewed it as "delightfully mobile" and a "frenziedly running, jumping picture".[5] Variety staff praised the performances, citing Rita Tushingham as perfect in her role.[6]

In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter ranked it the 49th best film to win the Palme d'Or, saying it "hasn't aged well" but the setting was a great asset.[7] In 2001, the Wallflower Critical Guide noted the creativity in cinematography and editing, but said it disrupted the storytelling.[8]

Accolades

The film was entered into competition at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival,[9] where it won the Palme d'Or.[10]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Belgian Film Critics Association 1966 Grand Prix Richard Lester Won [11]
British Academy Film Awards 1966 Best British Film Richard Lester Nominated [12]
Best Film from Any Source Richard Lester Nominated
Best Screenplay Charles Wood Nominated
Best Actress Rita Tushingham Nominated
Best Cinematography, Black and White David Watkin Nominated
Most Promising Newcomer Michael Crawford Nominated
Cannes Film Festival 3 – 16 May 1965 Palme d'Or Richard Lester Won [10]
Golden Globe Awards 28 February 1966 Best Actress – Comedy or Musical Rita Tushingham Nominated [13]
Best Foreign Film, English Language Richard Lester Nominated
Writers' Guild of Great Britain 10 March 1966 Best British Documentary Film or Short Script Charles Wood Won [14]

References

  1. 1 2 Michael Deeley, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books, 2009 p 31
  2. ↑ Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 245
  3. 1 2 3 Steiner, Richard. "THE KNACK...AND HOW TO GET IT". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  4. ↑ Ray Brooks interview by Chris Hunt
  5. ↑ Crowther, Bosley (30 June 1965). "Screen: 'The Knack' Opens at Plaza:Director Gives Pace to Off-Beat Story". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  6. ↑ Staff (31 December 1964). "Review: 'The Knack … And How to Get It'". Variety. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Staff (10 May 2016). "Cannes: All the Palme d'Or Winners, Ranked". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Yoram Allon; Del Cullen; Hannah Patterson, eds. (2001). Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide. Wallflower Press. p. 199. ISBN 1903364213.
  9. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: The Knack …and How to Get It". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Cannes 2011: all the Palme d'Or winners". The Guardian. May 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  11. ↑ "Richard Lester, The Knack". Cinémathèque royale de Belgique. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Film in 1966". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  13. ↑ "The Knack". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "WRITERS' GUILD AWARDS 1965". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
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