ComedyRomanceDrama

Billy Liar

- one guy ... three girls ... one ring!

A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.

Release Date : 1963-08-15

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Vic Films ProductionsWaterfall Productions

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : William Terrence 'Billy' Fisher

Original Name : Tom Courtenay

Gender : Male

Character Name : Liz

Original Name : Julie Christie

Gender : Female

Character Name : Geoffrey Fisher

Original Name : Wilfred Pickles

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alice Fisher

Original Name : Mona Washbourne

Gender : Female

Character Name : Grandma Florence

Original Name : Ethel Griffies

Gender : Female

Character Name : Duxbury

Original Name : Finlay Currie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rita

Original Name : Gwendolyn Watts

Gender : Female

Character Name : Barbara

Original Name : Helen Fraser

Gender : Female

Character Name : Emanuel Shadrack

Original Name : Leonard Rossiter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Arthur Crabtree

Original Name : Rodney Bewes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stamp

Original Name : George Innes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Danny Boon

Original Name : Leslie Randall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Inspector MacDonald

Original Name : Patrick Barr

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prison Governor

Original Name : Ernest Clark

Gender : Male

Character Name : Disc Jockey

Original Name : Godfrey Winn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ticket Examiner (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Cunningham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man on Train (uncredited)

Original Name : Harry Landis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Newsreel Commentator (uncredited)

Original Name : E. V. H. Emmett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Crabtree (uncredited)

Original Name : Anna Wing

Gender : Female

Character Name : Telephonist (uncredited)

Original Name : Sheila Fearn

Gender : Female

Character Name : Singer - Dance Hall (uncredited)

Original Name : Muriel Day

Gender : Male

Character Name : Band Leader - Dance Hall (uncredited)

Original Name : Lester Leigh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Matthieson (uncredited)

Original Name : Reginald Green

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Matthieson (uncredited)

Original Name : Margaret Lacey

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jeweller's Assistant (uncredited)

Original Name : Robin Parkinson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man in the Record Shop (uncredited)

Original Name : David Scase

Gender : Male

Character Name : Large Woman in Hospital (uncredited)

Original Name : Jessie Robins

Gender : Female

Character Name : Supermarket Manager (uncredited)

Original Name : Graham Rigby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prisoner Escort (uncredited)

Original Name : Jim Brady

Gender : Male

Character Name : Youth (uncredited)

Original Name : Neville Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Youth (uncredited)

Original Name : Leslie Lawton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Youth in Wimpy Bar (uncredited)

Original Name : John Tordoff

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prostitute (uncredited)

Original Name : Flo Fallows

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prostitute (uncredited)

Original Name : Alice Woods

Gender : Male

Character Name : Officer in Dream (uncredited)

Original Name : John Schlesinger

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bit Part (uncredited)

Original Name : Bryan Mosley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bit Part (uncredited)

Original Name : Aleksander Browne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Serviceman (uncredited)

Original Name : James Byron

Gender : Male

Character Name : Serviceman (uncredited)

Original Name : Douglas Clarke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Serviceman (uncredited)

Original Name : Alan Clayton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Danny's PRO (uncredited)

Original Name : George Ghent

Gender : Male

Character Name : Liz (uncredited)

Original Name : Topsy Jane

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bit Part (uncredited)

Original Name : Natalie Kent

Gender : Female

Character Name : Funeral Driver (uncredited)

Original Name : Ted Morris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bit Part (uncredited)

Original Name : Elisabeth Murray

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man Reading Newspaper (uncredited)

Original Name : Stuart Myers

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man in Station Cafe (uncredited)

Original Name : James Payne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man in Crowd (uncredited)

Original Name : George Spence

Gender : Male

Character Name : Danny's Secretary (uncredited)

Original Name : Elaine Stevens

Gender : Male

Character Name : Army Man (uncredited)

Original Name : William Wymar

Gender : Male

Reviews

CRCulver

@CRCulver

2021-06-23

Billy Liar is a 1963 British film that captures the monumental changes of the era: the sexual revolution and the destruction of England's old town centres in modernisation schemes. In Bradford, Yorkshire young Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay) is working a soul-crushing job in a funeral home and suffering daily the derision of his elderly parents. His only escape from this drudgery is his active imagination, where he imagines himself leader of his own country and misleads other townspeople about his family's situation with little fibs. His propensity to make things up and shrug off his responsibilities, however, leads him to end up dating two women at the same time (Helen Fraser and Gwendolyn Watts), though ultimately he dreams of escaping with the liberated Liz (Julie Christie). As a snapshot of Britain at a particular time, this is a valuable film. As background to Fisher's own personal struggles, the camera often shows wrecking balls smashing down the walls of old homes, and at one point a town councillor marks an entire swath of the city for demolition. A scene at a dance club captures the growing influence of rock 'n' roll on Britain. Old class tensions persisted, however, though American audiences might not entirely get this as it is often suggested only by characters' particular accents. The ending is a letdown though, essentially saying that young people should give up their silly dreams and give in to their parents' demands. This moral lesson was entirely overturned by the youth revolution that erupted through the Sixties. As the UK saw full employment through that decade, young people could take the risk of following their dreams even if it meant a rupture with their families and hometowns. Nonetheless, the comedic approach in the film makes it entertaining almost throughout, and I'd recommend that anyone see it at least once.

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-02-12

Tom Courtenay is "Billy", a lad whose grasp on reality is, well, tenuous. In his dreams, he is a brave and valiant life-saving sort of fellow. In real life he is a lowly clerk who works for a funeral director and lives with his increasingly exasperated parents. His problems only increase as he struggles to differentiate between his real life and that in his fictional land of "Ambrosia" and as his fantasies develop, he becomes more and more alienated from those around them. In the end, it is really only the happy-go-lucky "Liz" (Julie Christie) who might be capable of offering him a yellow brick road back to his, admittedly, rather dreary and relentless reality. Her imminent relocation from provincial Yorkshire to London might offer him salvation - but he will have to choose, and be brave - as brave as he is, on a daily basis, in his far away land. This is a tightly cast self-adaptation of Keith Waterhouse's play and with a strong supporting cast from Wilfred Pickles and Mona Washbourne we are quickly immersed in his dual existences in a fashion that is both entertaining and disconcerting. Clearly the young "Billy" is ill - but at a time when any form of mental health issues were stigmatised if acknowledged at all, and we cannot help but sympathise with the frustrated parents and with the young man himself. Christie is a breath of fresh air - she has a character full of pragmatism, optimism and opportunity that was clearly designed to offer that gust of wind to blow away the fabric of his paper house, and John Schlesinger allows the characterful performances and this most human of stories to thrive with a minimum of distraction. Courtenay and Christie are at the top of their games here, and as a study of aspects of human nature as yet largely unexplored by cinema, this is a fine example.