Does anyone know which UK locations were used in the 1963 movie, Billy Liar Starring Tom Courtney?
Wasn't it mostly Bradford ? But the station scenes at the end were London (Marylebone).(woody @ May 16 2006, 09:18 PM)
Does anyone know which UK locations were used in the 1963 movie, Billy Liar Starring Tom Courtney?
IMDb has a detailed list....
SMUDGE
Some of Billy Liar was filmed on Hampstead Heath, he leaves the dance hall with Julie Christie somewhere 'up north' and then he is walking with her on the footpath between the ponds. The houses at the back of the shot are South Hill Park.
The Dance Hall scenes were filmed in "Ashton Palais",Ashton under Lyne, Lancs. I used
to work with a woman who was an extra!
I'll be in Bradford tomorrow checking out locations from Billy Liar, my all-time favourite film (tying with Odd Man Out).
I've made a Google map of the main locations, if anyone's interested: Billy Liar locations - Google Maps
By the way, the VERY cool thing about the Billy Liar locations on Google Maps is that Bradford has "street view", so you can zoom in and see not only aerial images, but interactive street-level images. Almost as good as being there!
Some photo comparisons from today's Billy Liar location trip to Bradford.
First, Hinchliffe Avenue and Midland Road in Baildon, just past Shipley on the outskirts of Bradford. This was the location for Billy's house.
Second, Undercliffe Cemetery. Fascinating, with huge, elegant obelisks and ornamental urns on plinths all over the place.
It was here that Billy and Barbara took a "romantic" walk before bumping into Arthur's mother. Billy ends up making a speedy departure after getting caught in a lie!
A couple of cemetery locations from the film were hard to find. I think some landscaping has changed the place a bit, and some of the graves seen in the film may even have been props. I looked in vain for any monument resembling an angel, as in the film.
Brilliant work, Dave! You've matched the modern views with the original CinemaScope frames perfectly. I see they've lost a street lamp in that street since 1963, though. They probably took the old gas lamp away and forgot to replace it with an electric one!
Thanks, darrenburnfan. It was good luck that I managed to match most of the angles. I've cropped them to better resemble the film, too.
___________
Third, Church Bank. Billy walks down here pretending to be blind on his way to work, passing Bradford Cathedral. It appears the top end of the Cathedral was still being built during filming. Also, the office block visible in the background has been torn down, and the vast area of land in front of it is totally inaccessible now, as a new shopping centre is being built. This meant that one of my locations - Forster Square, through which Billy and Arthur walk, hands on lapels, lampooning the old-fashioned ways of their elders - no longer existed.
You were lucky that many of the locations still survive, although the odd one has been swallowed up by progress. Still, a lot of water has gone under the bridge in the past 46 years since 1963, so it's not surprising.
Billy and Arthur show their distance from their parents' generation by dancing on the War Memorial in Victoria Square.
The building to the right is the Alhambra (theatre). I don't recall it appearing in Billy Liar much, but its interiors were used for The Entertainer in 1959.
Over to the left (out of the picture) is the National Media Museum. Worth a visit. If I'd had the sense to phone in advance, I could probably have arranged to view the Roy Ashton Collection in the archives. Roy Ashton was Hammer's main makeup artist, responsible for some of their most iconic monsters (The Gorgon, The Curse of the Werewolf, The Reptile etc). Ah well, guess that's for another day.
More pics coming in a sec.
Or that old gas street light could be a prop, its perfectly placed to provide a range left key line for the end titles lettering, too perfectly placed maybe! Good to see the comparison photos though, great work Dave, looks like you had a fun day out.Brilliant work, Dave! You've matched the modern views with the original CinemaScope frames perfectly. I see they've lost a street lamp in that street since 1963, though. They probably took the old gas lamp away and forgot to replace it with an electric one!
Finally, Southgate, where the undertakers Shadrack and Duxbury's (Billy's workplace) was located:
As you can see from this angle, the Goodwin's store on Sunbridge Street has been knocked down:
Across the street, Barbara apprehended Billy:
A plaque on the wall commemorates the filming:
I take that back. I checked in Google Street View and the office block still exists - I just didn't notice it. It looms much larger in the film than in real life, presumably because of the lens settings.Third, Church Bank. ... Also, the office block visible in the background has been torn down ...
Yes, well, it is obscured by trees these days.
Ah, of course, filmed 1962, released 1963.
You could well be right about that gas lamp, Chris.Or that old gas street light could be a prop, its perfectly placed to provide a range left key line for the end titles lettering, too perfectly placed maybe! Good to see the comparison photos though, great work Dave, looks like you had a fun day out.
No, you were right. It was torn down last year.I take that back. I checked in Google Street View and the office block still exists - I just didn't notice it. It looms much larger in the film than in real life, presumably because of the lens settings.
Click for pic!
From the Yorkshire Film Archive: BILLY LIAR ON LOCATION - LEEDS, BRADFORD | YFA
"Filmed in 1962, this film captures a behind the scenes look at part of the making of the John Schlesinger film, Billy Liar (1963). This film gives an interesting look at the production of Billy Liar as portions of the Leeds and Bradford location shoots have been documented on this film.
Billy Liar is the story of an undertaker’s clerk, Billy Fisher, who longs to escape his monotonous existence for the bright lights of London to become a scriptwriter. But his life is one long round of tightly knotted, but steadily fraying lies. Ever the dreamer, Billy weaves an ever-growing web of deceit as his outrageous fantasies spiral out of control. The film was shot on location in Yorkshire between October and December, 1962.
October, 1962: The film opens with soldiers marching in a parade led by a brass band. The parade passes in front of Leeds City Hall. A few tanks bring up the end of the parade, and actors dressed as dignitaries are standing on the steps of City Hall watching the procession pass by. Various crew and film equipment can be seen, and director John Schlesinger uses a blow horn to give instructions to the surrounding extras. He also instructs the actors on the steps of the City Hall. Further crewmembers set up a camera on a tripod outside the city hall to capture the scene from a different angle.
The next scene takes place in Bradford during the filming of one of Billy’s grand fantasy scenes. Billy, played by Tom Courtenay, is directly in front leading the large military parade. Some of the marchers carry a large banner. Surrounding the scene are different members of crew who work the tracking equipment necessary to get a tracking shot. Many extras have turned out for the shoot and are all dressed in military uniform. The majority of this portion of film focuses on the technical crew and the various cameras and other pieces of equipment required to make the movie."
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