In search of the UK’s great “city films”: The North East

By Gareth Potts

About the City Films blogs

A couple of years back my wife and I had just bought our first home and I turned to the top priority -  a man-cave (or sunroom as my wife mistakenly calls it). What to put on the walls of said cave was a central question. As a film-loving Brit. now based in the U.S., I decided some British film posters and/or stills might look good.

I quickly realized that several of my favourite British films have strong associations with cities and metro areas: Get Carter (Tyneside), 24-Hour Party People (Greater Manchester) and The Full Monty (Sheffield). Get Carter was especially important to me, as I’d lived in Newcastle for four and a half years. But what about other places I had lived such as Liverpool and London – what were their city films?

As someone interested in most things cities related, I decided to widen the search to all of the U.K.'s cities and major towns. I devised a rough method for finding and short-listing films and a scoring system for assessing which of the short-listed ones were the best city-films. This method is outlined here.

The key thing to note is that, for short-listing, films must have received a total IMDb score of at least 6.5 from at least 100 votes. I do mention the films that didn't meet this criterion - these are the ones indicated by LL (for 'Long List'). I also limited it to the last 60 years - which, since I began this in 2018, meant 1958 and after. And of course, I also tried to watch as many of them as I could.

I have already blogged for online magazine City Metric here on the city films for London and here on the South, Midlands and Eastern regions. However, I am now moving the blogs for the remaining UK regions onto this site - starting with the North East. In  time, I will also be reworking those early blogs into the new format I'm using here.

Anyway, enough chit-chat ... let's look at some films.

The Films

Payroll (1961), a well-acted, well-scripted, and superbly scored story of an armed robbery, has lots of terrific black and white shots of Newcastle, Gateshead and Tynemouth on the coast. However, the complete absence of a North East accent, despite Newcastle being the acknowledged setting, is, er, disappointing.

Michael Craig, star of Payroll - the riverside and the Tyne and Swing Bridges behind him

Local accents were again scarce in cult classic Get Carter (1971) that, nonetheless, boasts terrific shots of Tyneside and surrounds (most famously Owen Luder’s Brutalist Trinity Square car park in Gateshead). Director Mike Hodges claims that ‘the Dolce Vita murder’, committed locally a few years earlier, led him to some of the locations used. There is also a brief shot of a South Asian-origin family stood at their doorstep – a small sign of a changing city.

The Likely Lads (1976), a 'spin-off’ (cash-in?) from the Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? tv series, was co-written by legendary (Tyneside born-and-bred) Ian La Frenais. There are many Tyneside locations on display – notably North Tyneside – and the late Gateshead-based comic, Alan Snell, even has a cameo as a Noda taxi driver. That there's also a lot of Northumberland's beautiful countryside in it means it is a bit of a stretch to call it a true city film.

Likely Lads James Bolam and Rodney Bewes - Spanish City, Whitley Bay (North Tyneside)

No account of North East films in the 1980s would be complete without discussion of the work of the (Newcastle-based) Amber Films Collective which recently celebrated fifty years in business and which is the subject of a new book by Northumbria University's James Leggott.

James Leggott's new (April 2020) book on Amber Films

The Amber films drew on a range of local writing, directing and acting talent. Regular actors included Brian Hogg, Betty Hepple (screen name Amber Styles!), Art Davies, Ray Stubbs, Sammy Johnson, Maureen (Mo) Harold and Anna-Marie Gascoigne. Gascoigne, sister of footballer Paul, has had support roles in many North East films and a joint lead in Dream On (see ahead).

Double Vision (1986), the first Amber Film to make the list, is a 60-minute blend of documentary and drama exploring the world of boxing, centred on a gym run by former miner and boxer George Bowes in Hartlepool. LL.

T Dan Smith (1987), another Amber production, is an experimental mix of drama and interviews about the high-profile former Newcastle City Council Leader. LL.

Stormy Monday (1988), about a prospective nightclub take-over and competition for a woman, sees local-boy-made-megastar Sting in a lead role and features various city locations. My main memories of the film are bad fluorescent lighting , the incongruity of Hollywood stars in Central Newcastle and not really liking it. LL.

Women in Tropical Places (1989) is about an Argentinian expatriate who arrives in Newcastle to marry her fiancé. One of the lead actresses is sometime Tyneside celebrity Huffty. The film's Buenos Aires-raised Writer-Director, Penny Woolcock, was raised in Argentina, came to Europe in the late 60s and to Newcastle in the 1980s to work on documentary films - a time outlined here and here. It was a TV movie and I can't find it anywhere - including Penny Woolcock's website or Vimeo page. LL.

In Fading Light (1989) is set in the declining North Shields (North Tyneside) fishing industry and was written by Tom Hadaway who, from 14 to 40, had worked on the local fish quay. To make filming easier, the production company, Amber Films, bought and ran a boat - with local fishermen auditioning and training the mostly local actors. The Director was Newcastle-based Murray Martin who had been instrumental in setting up Amber. Actor Ray Stubbs, a very accomplished musician, helped with the music. There is a lot of tense at-sea action but the film also shows a great deal of the local area and makes some important political points. I loved it. LL.

Still from In Fading Light. Left to Right: Dave Hill, Joe Caffrey and Sammy Johnson

Dream On (1991) is about how pub darts matches offer three women an escape from hard personal lives. Again, the location is North Tyneside, again the production company was Amber and again they bought the main location used for filming - a pub on the Meadow Well estate! The film drew on the Amber Collective's wider work with local residents and was filmed on the estate in the year when it saw major uprisings. The Director was Murray Martin's wife Ellie Hare. The film is an absolute gem - harrowing, funny and well-acted. LL.

Killing Time (1998) is about a detective who hires a beautiful female assassin to kill the mobster who murdered his (the detective's) partner - an everyday North East tale then! The writer was Newcastle-raised Neil Marshall, who gained his degree at Newcastle Polytechnic Film School, and the Director was Bharat Nalluri, who grew up in Newcastle and attended the city's Royal Grammar School. The trailer makes me think Killing Time might not be my thing - but it might be yours. LL.

Purely Belter (2000), about two teenagers’ search for a Newcastle United season ticket, is a Tyneside-Wearside film as it: features locations in both places; derives its title from a Geordie expression; is based on a novel (The Season Ticket) by a former Gateshead teacher; stars two lads from Sunderland; features a handful of Tyneside-raised actors in key roles; and has a cameo by Alan Shearer. As further proof of the film's local roots, many of the stars even attended a 2017 reunion to raise funds for a local charity. It's a long time since I saw it, but I liked it - and the amusing ending!

The Purely Belter title didn't quite survive the translation into French!

The One and Only (2002), a remake of a Danish hit about love and adoption, was supported by Newcastle City Council and other regional agencies to promote Tyneside. I haven't seen it and can't find it anywhere. LL.

School for Seduction (2004) is about a Geordie girl who is coached in the art of seduction by an Italian femme fatale. The local writer-director Sue Heel is a product of a film foundation course at Gateshead College and one of the lead actresses is Jessica Johnson, a drama student from Gateshead. Former Newcastle-based company Ipso Facto produced the film. Passable from what I remember. LL.

Goal! The Dream Begins (2005) is about a talented Latino footballer from L.A. and his move to Newcastle United. Ian La Frenais was co-writer and there are cameos from Newcastle players as well as (then) AC/DC lead singer (Tyneside born-and-bred) Brian Johnson. Former United Chairman, Freddie Shepherd, lured the project away from Manchester United and hundreds of Newcastle fans turned out at St James’ Park as extras. The premiere took place at the Sage Gateshead. I must confess that I liked it - maybe Own Goal can be the Mike Ashley years?

Ways to Live Forever (2010) is an uplifting - and at times philosophical - ‘live life to the full’ story that follows two terminally ill teenagers. The filming locations are all on Tyneside and include coastal Cullercoats, the Marsden Rock, the Rosie pub in South Shields, Eldon Square shopping centre, some obligatory shots of some of the Tyne bridges and what look like suspiciously like the mean streets of Jesmond or Gosforth. Some of the production was also done at the Hoults Yard film studios in Byker. The book upon which the screenplay is based was written by Sally Nicholls from Teesside. The film is very much an Anglo-Spanish initiative - the Director, Gustavo Ron, also wrote the screenplay and many of the production staff were Spanish too. The (good) film lacks any local accents and has the most egregious product placement I have ever seen in a film.

Still from Ways to Live Forever. Herd Groyne lighthouse (South Shields) in the background

In Our Name (2010) follows a soldier who has returned home (supposedly to Middlesbrough despite filming being done on Tyneside!) from serving in Iraq and struggles to adjust back into her marriage and everyday life. The performance of lead actress, Joanne Froggatt (of Downton Abbey fame), won her the Most Promising Newcomer at the 13th British Independent Film Awards. There are a few fleeting shots of recognizable places on Tyneside - Fenham Barracks, Saltwell Social Club and the Tyne (looking west from a train crossing over the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge), and the pleasure park and beach at South Shields. LL.

A mention is due here to County Durham-based Writer-Director Rob Burrows who has made half a dozen features over the last decade - often shot on Tyneside and mainly involving some combination of zombies, comedy and the super-natural. If this sounds like your cup of tea (phial of blood?), you can check his work out here. 

Drunken Butterflies (2014) features 24 hours in the life of eight older Newcastle teenagers. It was written and directed by Garry Sykes who was raised in Cramlington - nine miles north of Newcastle. I suspect it's a highly atypical account of young women's social lives but the (now London-based) Sykes told the local press that "it’s a bit of a romanticised version of what happened to me as a teenager”. Some increased realism is added through real vox pops with teenagers. The actors were recruited from the North East (mostly Newcastle) and asked to make the 20-page storyline into a full-length feature. It was all shot in Newcastle - mainly the centre. In one scene, which may yet go down in British cinematic history, one of the girls reads a helpful magazine article informing her that “my vajazzle set my bits on fire”. There was a great scene where some of the girls get into a pub fight with a hen party - as a classical version of The Blaydon Races plays as the soundtrack. Local actor and magician Michael Grist also has an amusing role - one that allows him to show off his magical talents. Drunken Butterflies is actually a great example of a city film and I kinda liked it. LL.

Poster for Drunken Butterflies - featuring Tracy and the (apparently vajazzled) Chloe

Bypass (2014), about a teenager who turns to crime after the tragic death of his mother, was shot in and around Newcastle and Gateshead. The film was written and directed by Duane Hopkins who is based in Newcastle and launched his own production company there - Third Films (which made Bypass). The credits indicate a lot of Tyneside institutions (police, universities, sports and social clubs etc.) were involved in production yet the story seems much more inspired by Hopkins' upbringing on, and subsequent links to, a Coventry housing estate. There's also no local accents or obvious North East landmarks. There's a brief night-time view of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and the gasholder that features briefly may, I suppose, be one of the famous Dunston (Gateshead) ones. The only other indication it might be Tyneside is a seagull cry that can be heard outside! It's a dark but well-written and well-acted film and the ending offers hope for the lead character. LL.

Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake (2016) focuses on a man’s dispiriting attempts to navigate the benefits system. The star is Tyneside born-and-raised Dave Johns and there is also a good role for Zambian-born, Newcastle-raised Kema Sikazwe. It was also good to see the shooting locations properly listed in the end credits. I managed to catch it at the amazing Tyneside Cinema a few years back.

Daniel Blake (played by Dave Johns) outside a fictional Newcastle job centre

Two Graves (2018), a Tyneside-shot tale about a doctor seeking vengeance for her murdered son, was written, and directed by Newcastle-based Gary Young (best-known for writing London-set Harry Brown). The talented cast includes Dave Johns - hot off his I, Daniel Blake success. The trailer shows a good bit of the Tyne but almost none of those featured have a local accent. I've yet to see it. LL.

Ken Loach’s latest film, Sorry We Missed You (2019), about a self-employed delivery driver, is also set on Tyneside – notably Gateshead’s Team Valley. Two of the four family members are Tyneside-based, and the shoot had an artist-in-residence - Newcastle-based Aidan Doyle who took photographs on location to use for an exhibition. It’s a powerful film and it was amusing watching it with subtitles at my local cinema here in the U.S.

So, for what it's worth, my top-scoring North East city film (really a metro film as it's Tyne and Wear) is ... Purely Belter. The Likely Lads, I, Daniel Blake and Get Carter followed in the scoring. I'd also add a very honourable mention for three on my long list: In Fading Light, Dream On and Drunken Butterflies.

The author, a Brit. based in Washington DC, is on Twitter at @newbarnraising.