The Small World of Sammy Lee
The Small World of Sammy Lee[3] is a 1963 British crime film written and directed by Ken Hughes and starring Anthony Newley, Julia Foster and Robert Stephens.[4] A striptease-show compere is hunted across the seedy London underworld of Soho by debt collectors.
| The Small World of Sammy Lee | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ken Hughes |
| Produced by | Alec C. Snowden |
| Screenplay by | Ken Hughes |
| Starring | Anthony Newley Julia Foster Robert Stephens |
| Edited by | Henry Richardson |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films (UK) |
Release date | April 1963 (UK) |
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £190,067[1] |
| Box office | £49,981 (UK)[2] |
Synopsis and outline
Sammy Lee has five hours to pay off a gambling debt.
Andrew Pulver wrote in November 2016 for The Guardian, at the time of the film's re-release: "It’s a genuine curiosity: the last knockings of black-and-white, beat-influenced hipster cinema before a tide of gaudily-coloured, new wave-inspired, pop art films. Ken Hughes, its director, reached back to the pre-war working-class bohemianism so perfectly captured by Graham Greene and Gerald Kersh".[5] The film was based on a 1958 television play written and directed by Ken Hughes which also featured Anthony Newley in the lead.
Cast
- Anthony Newley as Sammy 'Lee' Leeman
- Julia Foster as Patsy
- Robert Stephens as Gerry Sullivan
- Wilfrid Brambell as Harry
- Warren Mitchell as Lou Leeman
- Miriam Karlin as Milly
- Kenneth J. Warren as Fred
- Clive Colin-Bowler as Johnny
- Toni Palmer as Joan
- Harry Locke as Stage Manager
- Al Mulock as Dealer
- Cyril Shaps as Maurice 'Morrie' Bellman
- Roy Kinnear as Lucky Dave
- Derek Nimmo as Rembrandt
- Harry Baird as Buddy Shine
- Alfred Burke as Big Eddie
- June Cunningham as Rita
- Elmer as Lofty
- Lynda Baron as Yvette
- Ken Wayne as Barman
- Kevin Brennan as Poker Player
- Billy Milton as Hardware Store Manager
- Ronald Radd as Big Alf
Music
Music for the film was composed by Kenny Graham; a soundtrack album did not appear at the time of the film's release, but one was later released by Trunk Records in 2013.
Reception
The film was a box office disaster and caused Bryanston to lose £80,000.[6]
References
- Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films : An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 7. ISSN 1465-3451.
- Petrie p 13
- The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963), retrieved 6 June 2017
- http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/51151
- Pulver, Andrew (8 November 2016). "The great lost London beat thriller: why to watch The Small World of Sammy Lee". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- Petrie p 13