The System

"The System" was both the first time director Michael Winner had ventured away from films featuring pop groups to something more serious and representative of the 60s, and the first time Oliver Reed had a lead role that wasn't in a Hammer horror. The scene where you see him for the first time in the camera range gives you some idea of what kind of screen presence he had before the booze became more important than the image. As Tinker the photographer, the leader of a randy gang in Brighton, Reed is exceptionally good, and also in the cast are John Alderton, David Hemmings, and Andrew Ray, all offering good support. The film gets under the skin of the decade and manages to be interesting to watch as well.

With the Girl-Getters or The System as it was shown to be when i lived in the UK is a tale of misspent youth on a Southern England coastal town. Like many of these towns the folk lay dormant for most of the year until the summer comes, and with it trade in the form of tourism. This was in a time before the package tour and the Costa-del-slosh that most of the young men have reverted to. This was a time when a virile young male spent his days prowling the promenade in search of his prey. The system was a cunning plan thought up by Tinker played brilliantly by the late Oliver Reed, was to a method of getting as much action of the female variety as possible. I will not ruin the surprise by revealing what the system exactly entails but needless to say it works with measured success. Until that is Tinker falls fowl of his own tricks and has his heart broken by a more fiestly young lady with a nice sports car and a wealthy father. The Soundtrack is particularly commendable as can be gleaned from the opening titles, and continues with a particulary mod beat. I particularly enjoyed the film as I am of the same age as Reed in the film and it is good to see that little has changed in our quest for summer fun except for perhaps the fashion of the time and hairstyles. Or has it.

As a young man in his late teens, this film brings back fond memories of Torquay and Paignton where the film was made.

It all started on Elberry Cove, near Goodrington, with a big, all night barbecue. It was supposed to be a warm summers evening, which was not quite the case, but it was a lot of fun.

I was there as an Extra with Naomi, the daughter of the late Don Kite (Film director) Most of the activity of this film took place around Paignton Harbour and in fact Tinker's Pad or Flat was the Harbour Lights Restaurant.

For all us teens, the 400 Club in Torquay, was the place to go. In fact it was the only place that had disco type dancing. And the 400 Club played a big part in the film, with a fight and scuffle, the we had to drag Tinker across the road and throw him in the harbour, I can't actually remember whether we did or not, but I know that his camera went in.

This film was probably very close to the truth, you get the feeling that the Writer, Peter Draper had been following us about taking notes on our activities throughout the summer months, particularly as we used to go down to Elberry Cove for barbeque's and dancing at the 400 Club

I give this film 8 for the memories

A neglected but in its unassuming way very well-made little melodrama by a young Michael Winner, shot mainly on location around Torbay right at the start of the Swinging Sixties era. Fairly racy in its day, it never tries to sensationalise its premise that casual sex is as normal as the twist among the holidaying young people.

The cast is exceptional. This was Winner's first collaboration with Oliver Reed, whose charisma and aura of watchful menace here is unmistakable. There was never another star in British cinema quite like him. Jane Merrow is just as excellent as the sympathetic but ultimately unattainable Nicola; she makes the character totally three-dimensional without any histrionics. Barbara Ferris also stands out among a talented young cast, especially in her final stoned lament at the evening beach-party.

Winner is helped immeasurably by a brilliant cinematographer, Nicolas Roeg (here in between lensing such notable Brit-flicks as The Caretaker, Nothing But the Best and Masque of the Red Death). His location work right from the title sequence gives a vivid sense of place of a jaded seaside resort in the last days of summer.

Directorial flair is surprisingly confident, borrowing just enough new-wave technique to languidly establish the film's youth pedigree without ever indulging in obtrusive effect for its own sake.

Winner's previous film, West 11, a lowlife murder suspensor, also made good use of a mainly young cast. After The System he moved on to bigger but not necessarily better things before Hollywood swamped what talent he had. A pity, because this film, never acknowledged as being one of the best British b-films of the time, really is pretty good.

I first saw this film when it was released (in 1964) and it had a profound effect on me then, imagine my surprise when I saw it in the middle of the night on TV a few days ago and it hasn't lost any of it's freshness. Oliver Reed is brilliant, as he always was before he took to the bottle, and the idea of the girl turning the tables on the cock-sure man is executed magnificently. Furthermore the quote that I remember for forty years still rang true (Harry Andrews, a photographer, says "we're here to make memories" and Oliver Reed's reply "I thought we were here to make money"). People may laugh at Michale Winner now but this was god, very good. Even today.