Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Tuesday's Forgotten Movies,THE KNACK-And How to Get It. (from 2011)




In my continuing attempts to resurrect public memory of Rita Tushingham's fabulous films of the sixties, here is THE KNACK from 1965 (Dir: Richard Lester). It concerns a young man's irresistible charms and whether such a skill can be passed on. Rita plays Nancy, a waif on her own in mod London who meets up with the boys.
This was Tushingham's area of expertise, playing waifs. Not classically pretty, she used her ability to play spunky yet innocent girls to great avail.

For more forgotten films, please consult Todd Mason at Sweet Freedom.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd heard of this one, but I admit I've never seen it, Patti.

Charles Gramlich said...

I don't know where you find these movies. My knowledge of films is extremely shallow it would appear.

Elgin Bleecker said...

Patti - I am a fan of director Richard Lester. Lester, an American who got his early experience in live TV in Philadelphia, made one of the great films of the 1960s, “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964) starring the Beatles.

Rick said...

I'm a big Richard Lester fan too. Loved all his "mod" films--including "Petulia" which I think is one of the best films of the 1960s. When I was a Film History/Film Criticism T.A. at UCLA in the early 70s, the professor allowed me to pick a film to screen for the Introductory Film Survey class. I choose "Petulia".

This is my favorite Rita Tushingham film. But I like her in most everything from the early indies up through "Dr. Zhivago" where I thought she was horribly miscast.

SteveHL said...

I am also a big fan of early Tushingham and I'm sorry that I have seen so little of her post-1960's work. I agree with Rick about the excellence of "Petulia". As for "The Knack", what ever happened to the young man who played the male lead, Michael Crawford? He doesn't seem to make films any more. (And who knew he could sing?)

SteveHL said...

I am also a big fan of early Tushingham and I'm sorry that I have seen so little of her post-1960's work. I agree with Rick about the excellence of "Petulia". As for "The Knack", what ever happened to the young man who played the male lead, Michael Crawford? He doesn't seem to make films any more. (And who knew he could sing?)