This film is currently unavailable
Tinker
A strikingly-filmed tale of a young tinker boy who finds his true calling on a mining apprenticeship scheme in Easington, County Durham.
Director: Herbert Marshall
Overview
This strikingly-photographed film, about a young boy overcoming disadvantage and prejudice, was hard to see in its own day and has been cruelly undervalued since. Shot entirely on location with a non-professional cast in the mining community of Easington, it also features scenes at the Durham Miners' Gala. The tinker of the title is an ill-educated young gypsy's son who impulsively enrols on a mining apprenticeship scheme and finds his true calling. The exciting chase climax features the best filmic use of a spoil conveyor outside of Get Carter.
Polymath director Herbert PJ Marshall (theatre director, writer, filmmaker, expert on Russian and East European drama and more besides) studied filmmaking in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, working alongside the likes of Sergei Eisenstein. With his wife, Fredda Brilliant, he had previously written the story for Ealing's Proud Valley (1940), a stirring tale of Welsh miners with a powerfully socialist message that was substantially diluted when Britain entered the war as production began. Marshall's political leanings helps explain why Tinker was little shown on its release.
Related
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.
The Post The Post
Drama 2017 116 mins Director: Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed, gripping and timely drama about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, featuring Tom Hanks and an Oscar-nominated performance from Meryl Streep.
Denial Denial
Drama 2017 110 mins Director: Mick Jackson
Powerful, aggressively relevant courtroom drama restaging the trial that questioned the events of the Holocaust. Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall star.
Mr. Topaze Mr. Topaze
Comedy 1961 97 mins Director: Peter Sellers
Charming character comedy, unseen for decades, starring Peter Sellers as a school teacher corrupted by big business.
Wild West Wild West
Comedy 1993 84 mins Director: David Attwood
Defying opposition from his conservative Pakistani family, Zaf Ayub dreams of becoming Southall's greatest gift to country & western.
The Orchard End Murder The Orchard End Murder
Crime 1982 50 mins Director: Christian Marnham
An old house near a remote, rural railway station provides the setting for this grisly tale of terror set in 1960s England.
Akenfield Akenfield
Drama 1975 98 mins Director: Peter Hall
Peter Hall’s extraordinary, long-unseen work of sublime poetic realism traces three generations of one Suffolk family and their lives in the farming industry.
Long Shot Long Shot
Comedy 1978 82 mins Director: Maurice Hatton
Deadpan satire about a Scottish film producer trying to make his debut feature.
Extremes Extremes
Documentary 1971 81 mins Director: Anthony Klinger and Michael Lytton
In-your-face 70s documentary exploring the lives of Hell's Angels, hippies, skinheads, rudeboys, mods and drug addicts.
Recluse Recluse
Crime 1979 29 mins Director: Bob Bentley
Based on the true story of a tragic murder and suicide that took place on the Luxton farm in Devon in the 1970s.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
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.