Scum (film)

Scum is a film made in 1979 portraying the brutality of life inside a British borstal. Directed by Alan Clarke and starring Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Martin Philips, Davidson Knight, John Blundell, and Phil Daniels, it tells the story of a young offender named Carlin as he arrives at the institution, and his swift rise to become "The Daddy". The film popularised the phrase "Who's the Daddy?".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The film is critical of the borstal system and caused much controversy when first shown. Some felt it should be banned, while others felt that it should be required viewing. The film is violent, with a vicious male rape scene that leads to the suicide of the victim. The warders and convicts alike are brutalised by the system. There is no attempt at rehabilitation, the inmates are simply locked away and left to their own devices.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The story was originally made for the BBC's Play for Today strand in 1977 but was not shown at the time, although the BBC version has been broadcast since. Two years later director Alan Clarke and scriptwriter Roy Minton remade it as a film, which was then shown on Channel 4 in 1983, by which time the borstal system had been abolished (the British "public morality" campaigner Mary Whitehouse initially won her court case against Channel 4 for showing the film, but Channel 4 later won on appeal). The original BBC production differed slightly from the remade one. The main difference was in the homosexual relationship between Carlin and another inmate, which was in the BBC version but dropped from the later film. Minton later said that this was a pity because it would have expanded Carlin's character and made him vulnerable in an area where he could not afford to be vulnerable.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Film: :This article is about motion pictures. For other uses of "film", see photographic film or film (disambiguation)...

1979: This page refers to the year 1979. For the Smashing Pumpkins song, see 1979 (song)....

British: The word British has several different uses. See the article on Britain for more details on the development and use of the word Britain....

Scum (film) related Images and Photos (experimental)

Film	Film Fun	Film Cans Set, Gold	Film Cans Set, Silver
Film Studio Poster	New Film Cans	New Film Cans	4 Film Favorites: Survival (4FF) (DVD)
4 Film Favorites: Superman (DVD)	4 Film Favorites: Vampires (4FF)	Film Studio Gift Set	Madonna Film Cell