Till Death Us Do Part (film)

2022-10-08T09:28:13Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Till Death Us Do Part
| image = "Till_Death_Us_Do_Part"_(1969).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Film Poster
| director = [[Norman Cohen]]
| producer = [[Jon Penington]]
| writer = [[Johnny Speight]]
| starring = [[Warren Mitchell]]<br>[[Dandy Nichols]]<br>[[Tony Booth (actor)|Tony Booth]]<br>[[Una Stubbs]]
| music = [[Wilfred Burns]]
| cinematography = [[Harry Waxman]]
| editing = Anthony Lenny
| studio = Associated London Films
| distributor = [[British Lion Film Corporation]]
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1969|01|10}}
| runtime = 100 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget = £300,000<ref name="bud">{{cite news|date= 20 August 1972|issue=7784|page=38|newspaper=Sunday Times|title=Digging for TV Treasure|first= Philip|last= Oakes}}</ref>
| gross = £1 million<ref name="bud"/>
}}
'''''Till Death Us Do Part''''' is a 1969 British [[comedy film]] directed by [[Norman Cohen]], written by [[Johnny Speight]], and starring [[Warren Mitchell]] and [[Dandy Nichols]]. It was based on the [[Till Death Us Do Part|BBC television series of the same name]]. Speight was the creator of the television version. The film was considered successful enough at the box office that a sequel, ''[[The Alf Garnett Saga]]'', followed in 1972.<ref>[[The Alf Garnett Saga]]</ref>

==Plot==

The film begins in September 1939 shortly before [[World War II]] begins. Alf Garnett, a dockyard worker, and his wife Else have been married for only a few weeks, and are already weary of one another. Alf gets called up for military duty but is turned down because he's in a [[reserved occupation]]. The film depicts their lives during the [[London Blitz]]. Else eventually gets pregnant to Alf and Else's shock, and they have a baby daughter, Rita, in 1942. The war ends in 1945 with a huge street party and Alf, characteristically, gets drunk.

Midway through the film it advances from the end of [[World War II]] to the [[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966 General Election]]. Rita is now a young woman and engaged to Mike Rawlins, a long-haired layabout from [[Liverpool]]. Alf dislikes him because of his support for the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]. Mike and Rita marry in a Catholic church, further angering Alf. At the wedding supper he fights with Mike's family. But Alf and Mike grow a bit closer, attending the [[1966 FIFA World Cup Final]] together.

The film ends in 1968 with the family moving to a new [[tower block]] in [[Essex]] after their East End neighbourhood street is demolished.

==Cast==
*[[Warren Mitchell]] as [[Alf Garnett]]
*[[Dandy Nichols]] as Else Garnett
*[[Una Stubbs]] as Rita Rawlins
*[[Tony Booth (actor)|Antony Booth]] as Mike Rawlins
*[[Liam Redmond]] as Mr. Rawlins
*[[Bill Maynard]] as Bert
*[[Brian Blessed]] as Sergeant
*[[Sam Kydd]] as Fred
*[[Frank Thornton]] as Valuation Officer
*[[Ann Lancaster]] as Aunt Maud
*[[Michael Robbins]] as Pub Landlord
*[[Pat Coombs]] as Neighbour
*[[Kate Williams (actress)|Kate Williams]] as Sergeant's Girlfriend
*[[Shelagh Fraser]] as Mrs. Rawlins
*[[John D. Collins]] as RAF officer at Tube Station
*[[Geoffrey Hughes (actor)|Geoffrey Hughes]] as Mike's brother
*[[Tommy Godfrey]] as Knowledgeable man in pub
*[[Bob Grant (actor)|Bob Grant]] as Man in Pub
*[[Edward Evans (actor)|Edward Evans]] as Jim (shopkeeper)

==Production==
[[Don Sharp]] was originally meant to direct but during production had disagreements with [[Johnny Speight]] over the script which led to Sharp being fired.<ref name="donfive">{{cite interview |last=Sharp |first=Don |subject-link= |interviewer=
Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson |title=Don Sharp Side 5|work= |date=2 November 1993 |publisher=History Project |location=London |url= https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/don-sharp|access-date=14 July 2021}}</ref>

The film had investment from the [[Robert Stigwood]] Organisation.<ref>City comment: Thanks to the pound Swan, Hunter; Stigwood, Robert. The Guardian 2 August 1972: 16.</ref>

The film went over budget but recovered its cost with a successful theatre run.<ref name="bud"/>

==Reception==
===Critical===
''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' wrote, "In its favour, it preserves the original characterisations at something like full strength and doesn't attempt to stitch three weekly episodes together and pass it off as a feature."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/film/till-death-us-do-part |title=Till Death Us Do Part | review, synopsis, book tickets, showtimes, movie release date | Time Out London |publisher=Timeout.com |date= |accessdate=7 March 2014}}</ref>

===Box office===
''Till Death Us Do Part'' was the third-most popular film at the UK box office in 1969.<ref>"The World's Top Twenty Films." Sunday Times [London, England] 27 September 1970: 27. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. accessed 5 April 2014</ref>

==Notes==
* The theme tune was composed by [[Ray Davies]] of [[the Kinks]]. Sung by Chas Mills, it is heard briefly at the end of the film over the closing credits.
* Location footage was filmed in [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]].
* The movie operates in a separate continuity to that of the TV series, most notably the Garnetts moving out of [[Wapping]] which did not occur in the series or its continuation.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0065105|Till Death Us Do Part}}

{{Till Death Us Do Part}}
{{Johnny Speight}}

[[Category:1969 films]]
[[Category:1969 comedy films]]
[[Category:Battle of Britain films]]
[[Category:British comedy films]]
[[Category:Films based on television series]]
[[Category:Films directed by Norman Cohen]]
[[Category:Films set in 1939]]
[[Category:Films set in 1942]]
[[Category:Films set in 1966]]
[[Category:Films set in 1968]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Till Death Us Do Part]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s British films]]

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Till Death Us Do Part (film)