Taglines: Which side will you be on?
If… movie storyline. Set in a British independent boys boarding school in the late 1960s (most of the scenes were filmed at Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire, with the remainder at Uppingham School in Rutland and Aldenham School in Hertfordshire, England, UK). Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) is one of three non-conformist boys among the returning class.
They are watched and persecuted by the “Whips”, senior boys given authority as ‘prefects’ over juniors. The prefects are entitled to the services of “Scum”, who are first-year boys assigned to run errands, make tea and generally act as unpaid servants. This refers to the old tradition of “fagging” which still persisted in many British independent boys’ schools.
The early part of the film shows scenes in the school as the pupils return at the start of a new term. Mick Travis, the protagonist, arrives with a suitcase on his shoulder, wearing a black Derby hat, with a black scarf across his face to hide his moustache. Stephans comments, “God, it’s Guy Fawkes back again”, hinting at the conclusion of the film. Rowntree (Robert Swann) is the Head Whip, and he revels in his power, ordering the junior boys to “Run! Run in the corridor!”
After the first evening meal, the Whips conduct some of the more mundane business of the school, signing up boys for “Confirmation class” and “VD clinic”. Each boy has to lower his pants so the school nurse can inspect his genitals. These early scenes show the school’s customs and traditions. The Headmaster (Peter Jeffrey) is somewhat remote from the boys and the House Masters. Mr. Kemp (Arthur Lowe), the House Master to Mick’s dorm, is told “I’ll have to get back to you on that” when he brings things to the Headmaster’s attention.
Kemp himself is easily manipulated by the Whips into giving them a free hand in enforcing discipline. Some of the staff are shown as suffering from various perversions. For example, the school chaplain (Geoffrey Chater), who is also the geometry master, enjoys grasping the boys and hurting them during class. At bedtime, Mr. Kemp sings a hymn as his wife (Mary MacLeod) accompanies him on the recorder; the matron (Mona Washbourne), overhearing, is driven to near orgasm. Mrs. Kemp herself enjoys walking naked through the boys’ dormitory and washroom while fondling soap, towels and other objects the boys have carelessly strewn about.
One day, having sneaked off campus and into the nearby town (an act strictly forbidden by house rules), Mick steals a motorbike from a showroom and has an affair with a local waitress. Meanwhile, Wallace finds adolescent romance with Bobby Philips, a junior boy, whom he takes to bed. They indulge in self-inflicted ordeals, such as seeing how long they can hold a plastic bag over their faces.
As the film progresses, it concentrates on Mick’s group and their clashes with the school authorities. Mick and his friends are subject to punishments, and eventually they are sentenced to corporal punishment in the form of a severe “beating” (i.e. a caning) by the Whips. The caning is administered by Rowntree in the gym with a long run-up. The three boys are left with bleeding buttocks. Mick’s punishment is especially brutal (10 strokes), yet tradition demands that he shake hands when it is over and say, “Thank you”.
If… is a 1968 British drama film produced and directed by Lindsay Anderson satirising English public school life. Famous for its depiction of a savage insurrection at a fictitious boys’ boarding school, the X certificate film was made at the time of the May 1968 protests in France by a director who was strongly associated with the 1960s counterculture. The film stars Malcolm McDowell in his first screen role and his first appearance as Anderson’s “everyman” character Mick Travis. Richard Warwick, Christine Noonan, David Wood, and Robert Swann also star.
If… won the Palme d’Or at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival. In 1999, the British Film Institute named it the 12th greatest British film of the 20th century; in 2004, the magazine Total Film named it the 16th greatest British film of all time. In 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for Time Out magazine ranked it the 9th best British film ever. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 93% of 45 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.92/10. According to the site’s critical consensus, “Incendiary, subversive, and darkly humorous, If… is a landmark of British countercultural cinema.”
If… (1969)
Directed by: Lindsay Anderson
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Richard Warwick, Christine Noonan, David Wood, Robert Swann, Peter Jeffrey, Mona Washbourne, Michael Cadman, Anthony Nicholls, Mary MacLeod, Geoffrey Chater, Arthur Lowe, Peter Sproule
Screenplay by: David Sherwin
Production Design by: Jocelyn Herbert
Cinematography by: Miroslav Ondrícek
Film Editing by: David Gladwell
Art Direction by: Brian Eatwell
Makeup Department: Betty Blattner, Allan McKeown
Music by: Marc Wilkinson
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: December 19, 1968 (UK)
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