Billy Liar (1963)

Billy Liar is a 1963 black and white CinemaScope film based on the novel by Keith Waterhouse. It was directed by John Schlesinger and stars Tom Courtenay (who had understudied Albert Finney in the West End theatre adaptation of the novel) as Billy and Julie Christie as Liz, one of his three girlfriends. Mona Washbourne plays Mrs. Fisher, and Wilfred Pickles played Mr. Fisher. Rodney Bewes, Finlay Currie and Leonard Rossiter also feature. The Cinemascope photography is by Denys Coop, and Richard Rodney Bennett supplied the score.

The film belongs to the British New Wave (or "kitchen sink drama") movement, inspired by the earlier French New Wave. Characteristic of the style is a documentary/cinéma vérité feel and the use of real locations (in this case, many in the city of Bradford in Yorkshire).

The film opened at the Warner Theatre in London's West End on 15 August 1963.

Synopsis

Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay) lives in Yorkshire with his parents (Wilfred Pickles and Mona Washbourne) and grandmother (Ethel Griffies), and works as an undertakers' clerk overseen by the rigid Mr. Shadrack (Leonard Rossiter). Billy wishes to get away from his stifling job and family life. To escape the boredom of his humdrum existence, he constantly daydreams and fantasizes, often picturing himself as the ruler and military hero of an imaginary country called Ambrosia. He also makes up stories about himself and his family, causing him to be nicknamed "Billy Liar".

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