Moviecut—The Leather Boys

The Leather Boys

... shabby, grimy and smoky. And gran's house is full of relics from the Edwardian era. Her son tries to persuade her that it is a "dump" and she should go into an old people's home. Typical kitchen sink drama in that the working classes are portrayed as constantly shrieking and flying off the handle - especially Rita Tushingham. Oh, I'd forgotten those "bouffant" hairstyles that took such a lot of work. I'd forgotten "ton-up" boys too.

Let me just start off by saying that this movie was nothing like what I thought it would be. I had expected to see a film primarily featuring motorcycle clubs competing against one another (or each other) with an emphasis on action. What I saw, on the other hand, was a romantic drama in which the lead character named "Reggie" (Colin Campbell) gets married to his sweetheart named "Dot" (Rita Tushingham) but after a series of quarrels becomes somewhat involved with a friend by the name of "Pete" (Dudley Sutton) who turns out to be gay. Again, this was not what I expected. Adding to my disappointment was the fact that the movie started off extremely slow and only got interesting during the motorcycle scenes which were few and far between. In any case, while other viewers might enjoy a film of this sort it simply wasn't my cup of tea and as a result I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

This film just touches on homosexuality. Dudley Sutton's character is not obviously gay. The ending of the film is slightly ambiguous, in that although he walks away from his gay friend, the truth of the main character's homosexuality is never truly revealed.

I caught this film on TV earlier this summer after having first seen it 30 years ago and it was every bit as good as I remembered it. It gains a great deal by not being overt about its gay subtext. This does a lot to increase its poignancy. Beautifully shot and edited ,it also fascinating for the various location shots around south west London. It also to my mind has a undermining sniggering tone to the fairly wooden dialogue amongst the family in the first part of the film..very reminiscent of a Mike Leigh film. Did anyone out there ever remember seeing it in the cinema, as I imagine people would have got more of the references and picked up its satirical tone more acutely then. Music by BillMcGuffie.He also did some arrangements for Sinatra. Check out Dudley Sutton on you-tube

Rita Tushingham and Colin Campbell get married. Things don't work out. He expects sex , a clean home and meals on time. She...seems vaguer on what's entailed. They quarrel constantly and he walks out to live in his grandmother's house with his motorcycle buddy, Dudley Sutton. There's a lot of gay subtext in this movie, what with the leather motorcycle togs, the men sharing a bed in Gladys Henson's house. Both of the principals seem lost and clueless as to what marriage entails, and fall into old habits. It's one of those kitchen-sink dramas that were popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the performances under under-rated director Sidney Furie are terrific, but it's a movie in which there is no one to root for. The camerawork by Gerald Gibbs seems purposefully gray and gloomy, with a constantly foggy outdoors.

An interesting kitchen sink film that alludes too, rather than tackling homosexuality. Worth watching for the location shots and the fine performance of Dudley Sutton. The final quarter of an hour is really quite poignant and there is an excellent final scene.

I laughed when I saw the title. I thought that is a very dodgy title! I was even more surprised when I realised it had a gay character lurking in his sexy leathers behind the main character! (Not that he got up to anything behind him) Although, I have to say it is extremely well acted, and even though the film is rather ancient now, it was actually rather refreshing, and very entertaining. So if it pops up on television somewhere, and you happen to be in front of it, watch it! It is well scripted and splendid stuff. You don't have to be gay to enjoy it either! Nice bikes too, makes me want to get my three wheeler out of the garage. Pedal power... Oh yes... Work those legs!

Captures the atmosphere of the 60s biking scene brilliantly. Why in the reviews here does no-one mention the motorcycles??!!! The only reason I wanted to see this was to drink in the atmosphere of the Ace Cafe and see the bikes! It was a bonus that the film had Rita Tushingham and a good story. Everyone seems to be getting excited about the 'gay' element, yes, it was pretty out there for the film made in the 60s, but it's really about society. It's about being an outsider, in more ways than one. I saw an old interview with the director, Sidney J Furie; he said whilst filming at The Ace, all the locals completely ignored the cameras and even Rita Tushingham, because they were far more interested in their own scene than a load of actors. It's hard to find this film now, but if you can, it's well worth a look. It might not be sophisticated as today's films, but that doesn't matter - it has the one thing they don't - originality!