This film is part of Rentals
The Small World of Sammy Lee
Seedy Soho strip-club compere Sammy (Anthony Newley) races to escape the heavies who hunt him in this gritty, engrossing 1960s London thriller.
Director: Ken Hughes
Overview
Snappy, jazzy, gripping, cynical and stylish, this engrossing, fast-paced, location-shot London thriller, energetically scripted and directed with dark, downbeat panache by the gifted Ken Hughes, is atmospherically played out on the shadowy, seamy streets of 1960s Soho. It follows small-time wide-boy and seedy strip-club compere Sammy (superbly portrayed by the highly influential but underrated actor, singer and songwriter Anthony Newley), on the run from the heavies after he runs up a debt he can’t pay at an all-night card game.
Racing against the clock to scare up some dough, can Sammy raise the readies, and escape with Patsy (a marvellously melancholy Julia Foster), the only woman foolish enough to love him, before his luck runs out? Vividly lensed in brooding black and white by legendary cinematographer Wolfgang Suschitzky, this gritty, grimy crime drama also boasts an exceptional supporting cast that includes Miriam Karlin, Wilfrid Brambell, Roy Kinnear and Warren Mitchell.
Contains moderate sex references, violence and drug referencesRelated
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of a 2024 Sundance audience award
The Goldman Case The Goldman Case
Drama 2023 116 mins Director: Cédric Kahn
Gripping courtroom drama based on the explosive 1976 murder trial of French political activist, Pierre Goldman.
In Camera In Camera
Drama 2024 95 mins Director: Naqqash Khalid
A struggling actor faces relentless knockbacks in Naqqash Khalid’s sharp-witted comment on race and identity in the film industry.
Kneecap Kneecap
Drama 2024 105 mins Director: Rich Peppiatt
Fantastically outlandish biopic about the anarchic Belfast rap trio and their fight to save the Irish language.
Tracks Tracks
Biopic 2014 113 mins Director: John Curran
Mia Wasikowska stars in this inspirational true story about one woman’s extraordinary odyssey through the Australian Outback.
Dark Waters Dark Waters
Biopic 2019 126 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Mark Ruffalo plays an attorney trying to uncover the corporate scandal of a chemical company poisoning a local community, in this searching ecological drama from Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol).
The Pleasure Girls The Pleasure Girls
Drama 1965 85 mins Silent Director: Gerry O'Hara
A trio of models enjoy a weekend of parties, blossoming friendships, and romantic encounters in London. Starring Ian McShane and Klaus Kinski.
Passport to Shame Passport to Shame
Crime 1958 90 mins Director: Alvin Rakoff
Diana Dors plays a sex worker with Herbert Lom as her sleazy pimp in this fierce and fiery thriller of 1950s prostitution on the London streets.
Beat Girl Beat Girl
Drama 1960 87 mins Director: Edmond T. Gréville
A cult classic British film about late-fifties youth-rebellion set against an intoxicating Beatnik backdrop.
Primitive London Primitive London
Documentary 1965 87 mins Director: Arnold Louis Miller
Arnold Louis Miller's follow-up to London in the Raw lifts the lid on society’s decay with its sideshow spectacle of 60s London depravity.
Peeping Tom Peeping Tom
Drama 1960 101 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s dark, disturbing, once controversial tale of a shy camera technician who films women as he kills them is now rightly deemed a classic.
Darling Darling
Drama 1965 123 mins Director: John Schlesinger
Julie Christie stars in the quintessential swinging sixties film, as a young woman flitting nonchalantly through London's nightlife.
Timeslip Timeslip
Science Fiction 1955 93 mins Director: Ken Hughes
A high-octane tale of atomic-era espionage on the rain-spattered streets of 1950s London.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins
Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.