Smashing Time (1967)

100% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(84 ratings)

Smashing Time attempts to turn British actresses Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave into a female Laurel and Hardy. The film's second mistake is to prolong the joke for 96 minutes. Tushingham and Redgrave play a couple of dimwitted North Country girls who head to London, in hopes of breaking into the… More Smashing Time attempts to turn British actresses Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave into a female Laurel and Hardy. The film's second mistake is to prolong the joke for 96 minutes. Tushingham and Redgrave play a couple of dimwitted North Country girls who head to London, in hopes of breaking into the mad, mod world of fashion modeling. Instead they spend most of their screen time getting in each other's way and wreaking havoc on innocent pedestrians. The comic "highlight" of Smashing Time is supposed to be a mammoth pie fight; but outside of one cute throwaway gag involving a street minister, the sequence makes one wish, in the words of Laurel and Hardy buff Leonard Maltin, that Smashing Time "had been handled by someone other than [director] Desmond Davis." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Desmond Davis
Written By: George Melly
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 20, 1967 Wide
On DVD: Nov 24, 1998

Critic Reviews

Ed Gonzalez, Apollo Guide
But most of this the film is a delight, especially scenes revolving around Yvonne's continual abuse of Brenda.

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Eric B

"Smashing Time" is a mediocre movie, but it's lots of fun. Not exactly subtle, this British comedy is full of broad, farcical performances and actually has two -- two! -- major food-fight scenes. Is that a first? Yvonne (Lynn Redgrave) and Brenda (Rita Tushingham) have… More
"Smashing Time" is a mediocre movie, but it's lots of fun. Not exactly subtle, this British comedy is full of broad, farcical performances and actually has two -- two! -- major food-fight scenes. Is that a first? Yvonne (Lynn Redgrave) and Brenda (Rita Tushingham) have a ball as two daft birds visiting the big city, determined to become all the rage with the swinging Carnaby Street crowd. Yvonne is loud and ditzy, while Brenda is mousy and vulnerable. They flip through a few menial jobs, making a spectacular mess of whatever situation they enter, while also tangling with a cheeky tabloid photographer (the young Michael York). Eventually they stumble into show business via unlikely paths, which motivates one hilarious recording-session scene where every gimmick of the day (sitar, harp, girlie backup vocals) is awkwardly thrown into the mix. The other standout set pieces are a trendy art-gallery opening (booby-trapped robots are sold to people who want to feel nuclear paranoia at home) and a misfired bedroom seduction where a sleazy bounder (Ian Carmichael) puts the moves on Yvonne (too bad that a laxative joke doesn't pay off like it should). Slapstick humor is everywhere (the laundry bills must have been incredible), and the actors exaggerate every gesture, expression and regional accent. The psychedelic band Tomorrow (featuring a pre-Yes Steve Howe) has a small, non-musical role, and the score also includes several sweet songs that Redgrave and Tushingham warble themselves. This is definitely a period piece, but don't expect too much and you'll enjoy some silly laughs.
Emily B

Ok, this is very silly and wacky yet I found myself really liking it! This is a great satire on Swinging 60s London. Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham play two girls from the North of England determined to make it big in swinging London. What follows is a series of crazy situations… More
Ok, this is very silly and wacky yet I found myself really liking it! This is a great satire on Swinging 60s London. Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham play two girls from the North of England determined to make it big in swinging London. What follows is a series of crazy situations as the unlikely pair do find fame only to realize it's not really worth it. This film is so kitsch, with songs to match ("I can't sing but I'm young!"). If you love 60s style then your bound to like this, but this is not one to be taken seriously and overall is just a fun piece of nostalgia.

Cast

            Rita Tushingham as Brenda

            Lynn Redgrave as Yvonne

            Michael York as Tom Wabe

            Anna Quayle as Charlotte Brilling

            Irene Handl as Mrs. Gimble

            Ian Carmichael as Bobbi Mome-Rath

            Toni Palmer as Toni

            Jeremy Lloyd as Jeremy Tove

            Arthur Mullard as Cafe Boss

            Sydney Bromley as Tramp

            Murray Melvin as 1st Exquisite

            Paul Danquah as 2nd Exquisite

            Valerie Leon as Tove's Secretary

            Jerold Wells as Man in Cafe No. 6

            Yuri Borienko
            
            Veronica Carlson
            
            Golda Casimir
            
            John Clive as Sweenie Todd Manager

            Howard Marion-Crawford as Hall Porter

            Julian Curry
            
            Amy Dalby as Demolished Old Lady

            Tom Gill
            
            Danny Green
            
            Geoffrey Hughes
            
            Brenda Kempner
            
            Sam Kydd
            
            Bruce Lacey as Clive Sword

            David Lodge as The Caretaker

            Arthur Lovegrove
            
            Vanessa Redgrave
            
            Cardew Robinson as Custard-Pie Vicar

            Frank Sieman
            
            Will Stampe
            
            Ronnie Stevens as 1st Waiter

            Michael Ward
            
            George A. Cooper as Irishman

            Desmond Davis
            
            Peter Jones as Dominic

            Kate Binchy
            
            Bart Allison
            
            Stuart Saunders
            
            Gabor Baraker
            
            Bernard Stone
            
            Susan Whitman
            
See full cast