Melody

[Tony C]

I chanced upon this film earlier today. It was Alan Parker's opening gambit in the film industry (as writer only) after prompting from producer David Puttnam.

It' was released in 1971 and I saw it at the cinema then, under its original title of S.W.A.L.K. and as that suggests it's a very gentle early teen romantic
comedy with a kids v adults theme and a bit of class observation thrown in. Not necessarily my cup of tea.

Yet I was absolutely blown away by it. Loved the central performances of the young actors, it was beautifully shot and the it steered well clear of cliche (neither the teachers nor the parents were painted as evil or mean, just misguided).

It's a 'mood' piece for sure but I guess I must have been in just the right one. I found its innocence profoundly moving. Maybe it's my ageing hormones or something.

[MarkF]

Unbelievable! That post could have been written word for word by me...I kept an eye out for it under the S.W.A.L.K title but never found it, I only found out fairly recently it was re-titled Melody... I seem to remember being intrigued by the idea of Lester and Wild in another film together. The film pops up on Talking Pictures occasionally.

When you say 'profoundly moving innocence' it is exactly correct. The supporting actors were good too, Kinnear and Barron. It was as good I think as P'Tang Yang Kipperbang a few years later.

Another teaming up for Wild and Moody was a film called Flight of the Doves. Again worth a watch (Not a classic but charming in its own way).

[tee rex]

I saw it on telly when I was a kid, maybe late 70s, but don't recall watching it since. I remember that I liked it a lot but I'm not sure that in my 50s I should rely on my adolescent self for a review. That version of me didn't like Mark Lester much, "that annoying weed from Oliver!" may have been his reaction at the time. He was a weed himself and probably jealous.

[Nefertiti2]

There's an interview with Parker here in which he talks about how the story was an amalgam of his memories with David Puttnam's

[Tony C]

That's interesting.

As I said I was really taken by it, even without mentioning a terrific Bee Gee's score in which the lovely 'First of May' is used beautifully in context.

It really is a little gem.