SATURDAY MATINEE, MAY 14BEYOND THE KITCHEN SINK

NO LOVE FOR JOHNNIE 2:00

"Kitchen sink cinema" paved the way for social issues to dominate British filmmaking in the early 60s. NO LOVE FOR JOHNNIE is the most overtly political of the films to emerge in this time frame, with Peter Finch giving a superb, slow-simmering performance as Johnnie Byrne, a seriously conflicted member of Parliament whose political career and personal life come unhinged when his wife asks for a divorce. Journeyman director Thomas reaches a career peak via his precise calibration of the increasingly ironic contrasts between Johnnie's public and private life. With Billie Whitelaw, Stanley Holloway, Donald Pleasence, and the ravishing Mary Peach.

Dir. Ralph Thomas (1961, 110 min.)

NOTHING BUT THE BEST  4:00

The British class system and the "knack" of beating it at its own game is the subject of this dryly savage comedy starring Alan Bates as Jimmy Brewster, a man besotted with the specter of social mobility. There's just about nothing that Jimmy won't do—including murdering his tweedy mentor (a young, raffish Denholm Elliot)—in order to get ahead. Cameraman Nicholas Roeg, who would later become a notorious "arthouse" director in 70s Britain, favors closeups and trick shots; like Jimmy, he demonstrates more chutzpah and bravado as the film progresses. With Alan Bates, Denholm Elliot, Millicent Martin.

Dir. Clive Donner (1964, 99 min.)