No Surrender (film)

No Surrender
No Surrender
Directed by	Peter Smith
Written by	Alan Bleasdale
Produced by	Mamoun Hassan
Starring	Michael Angelis; Bernard Hill; Joanne Whalley; Ray McAnally; Elvis Costello
Cinematography	Mick Coulter
Edited by	Kevin Brownlow; Rodney Holland
Music by	Daryl Runswick
Distributed by	Circle Films (US); Palace Pictures/Video (UK)
Release date	1985;
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£2.34 million

No Surrender is a 1985 British comedy film written by Alan Bleasdale, directed by Peter Smith and produced by Mamoun Hassan.

Describing the commissioning process, Bleasdale said, "I went to the National Film Finance Corporation and told them I was never going to write Star Wars or Rambo Revisited or anything like that, so I just went ahead and wrote the film I wanted to write".^[2]

The film is set in Liverpool during New Year's Eve. A man has been hired as the new manager of a function hall, and has to deal with the last arrangements made by his disgruntled predecessor. The hall has been simultaneously booked by rival groups of militant Catholics and Protestants, the entertainers hired for the night are inept and their acts are likely to infuriate the clients, and a marching band of the Orange Order starts playing sectarian tunes. When brawls break out within the hall, the manager has to find a way to defuse the situation.

Plot

On New Year's Eve in Liverpool, Michael becomes the new manager of the Charleston Club, a run-down function hall on an industrial waste ground which, he later discovers, is owned by an organised crime syndicate. He also discovers that the previous manager, MacArthur, in an attempt to spite the hall's owners, has hired it out to two groups of senior citizens for New Year's Eve; one group are hardline Catholics and the other are hardline Protestants, and the entertainment consists of a magician with stage fright, a gay comedian and his boyfriend, a talentless punk band, and a fancy dress competition with a non-existent prize.

The two parties arrive and are joined by another group of senior citizens who are suffering from senile dementia. After discovering MacArthur being tortured in a back room by the hall's owners, Michael, along with bouncer Bernard and kitchen porter Cheryl, attempts to keep things in order amid the threat of violence in the air.

As the night goes on, however, things start to go wrong; the comedian's routine is badly received, the magician has to pull out because of the death of his rabbit, and the band's poor performance prompts the groups to throw missiles at the stage while the band members fight amongst themselves. Meanwhile, things begin to boil over when former Loyalist boxer Billy McRacken strangles on-the-run terrorist Norman Donohue to death in a toilet cubicle after Norman makes comments about McRacken's daughter "marrying out", and an Orange Order marching band begins playing sectarian tunes, leading to a mass brawl in the toilets and the discovery of Norman's body. Meanwhile, Michael and Cheryl begin singing "If You Need Me" together on stage while Bernard phones the police, who arrive and defuse the situation.

The situation dies down by midnight, and the groups all go their separate ways peacefully. Michael and Cheryl share a kiss, before going back to Cheryl's house together. The film ends with McRacken phoning his daughter and asking to speak to his son-in-law, before wishing him a happy New Year.

Cast

Michael Angelis as Mike
Avis Bunnage as Martha Gorman
James Ellis as Paddy Burke
Tom Georgeson as Mr. Ross
Bernard Hill as Bernard
Ray McAnally as Billy McRacken
Mark Mulholland as Norman
Joanne Whalley as Cheryl
J.G. Devlin as George Gorman
Vince Earl as Frank
Ken Jones as Ronny
Michael Ripper as Tony Bonaparte
Marjorie Sudell as Barbara
Joan Turner as Superwoman
Richard Alexander as Smoking Kid
Pamela Austin as Organist
Elvis Costello as Rosco de Ville
Ian Hart as Uncertain Menace
Joe McGann as Second Policeman
Mark McGann as Rock Group Leader
James Culshaw as O'Gormans Taxi Driver

Reception

Walter Goodman of The New York Times called it "a funny movie about a desperate condition."^[3]

Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post wrote: "No Surrender pretends to be a black comedy, but it really isn't -- it's just sour".^[4]

References

^ "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s – An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 26.
^ Johnston, Trevor (30 May 1986). "Bleasdale Beyond the Blackstuff". The List. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
^ Goodman, Walter (6 August 1986). "SCREEN: 'NO SURRENDER,' A COMEDY (Published 1986)". The New York Times.
^ Attanasio, Paul (4 October 1986). "'No Surrender' (R)". The Washington Post.

External links

[org-1] "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s – An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 26.

[2] Johnston, Trevor (30 May 1986). "Bleasdale Beyond the Blackstuff". The List. Retrieved 3 July 2019.

[3] Goodman, Walter (6 August 1986). "SCREEN: 'NO SURRENDER,' A COMEDY (Published 1986)". The New York Times.

[4] Attanasio, Paul (4 October 1986). "'No Surrender' (R)". The Washington Post.

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v t e The works of Alan Bleasdale
Television serials	Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) Scully (1984) The Monocled Mutineer (1986) G.B.H (1991) Jake's Progress (1995) Melissa (1997) Oliver Twist (1999) The Sinking of the Laconia (2010)
Films	No Surrender (1985)