A Taste of Honey

Tony Richardson, UK, 1961, 100 minutes

Adapted from Shelagh Delaney's acclaimed play, A Taste of Honey tells the tale of Jo (Rita Tushingham), an unglamourous young girl living in the industrial North. Withdrawn from her sluttish mother (Dora Bryan), she learns to grow up fast. Made pregnant by a black sailor (Paul Danquah), she becomes befriended by a homosexual shop assistant (Murray Melvin) who begins to care for her in a way her mother never has.

As you will gather, A Taste of Honey is what is generally known as a "social problem film", a genre popular in the Sixties. Of its kind, it's a superb example. It's a memorable picture, strikingly photographed' by Walter Lassally. True to the "social realism" school, it offers a realistic and believable portrait of the details of ordinary life. Tremendously engaging, the film is directed with a poet's eye by Tony Richardson. The acting is magnificent. Rita Tushingham shows a great promise that, regrettably, she was unable to fulfil in future films. Murray is excellent and the venerable Dora Bryan steals scenes ruthlessly.

Review by Stephen Townsend
Taken from EUFS Programme 1993-94