545:, which opened yesterday at the Murray Hill and other theaters, begins with some shots of the real birth of a baby, and goes on to become one of those ringingly false Technicolor British films about working-class life in London. It is not very good; but January has been, in general, a poor month for movies, and it might be a good idea to look at the bright side—which, since the quality of the color makes England look like April in Disneyland, is very bright indeed."
300:, Joy moves in with Dave, one of Tom's criminal associates. Dave is tender and understanding, but the idyll is shattered when he is sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for leading a robbery which results in a woman being blinded, and given his long criminal record, early release seems unlikely. Intending to be faithful to Dave, Joy moves back with Aunt Emm, writes to Dave frequently, and initiates divorce proceedings against Tom.
311:. She likes men giving her presents but is too impulsive and easygoing to make a living as a prostitute. Bored with her humdrum surroundings, she dreams of bettering herself. When Tom is released, Joy goes back to him after he promises to move her from her small grotty flat to a modern well-furnished house. However, one evening, after Tom has slapped her several times, Joy goes out and upon returning, she finds Tom watching
457:, although many pop songs like "Funny how love can be" by the Ivy League and "Not Fade Away" by the Rolling Stones from the era are heard in the film. Three Donovan songs are heard in the film, including the title song. The melody of the title song is repeated instrumentally in diverse arrangements in several parts of the film. It was released as single B-side to "
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But he really didn’t write it; we didn’t really have a script. That was one of the things that was interesting about it. It was just wholly improvised. He had the idea, he had the overall trajectory in his mind, but we didn’t have a script. And, consequently, it had to be Take One because each of us
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18-year-old Joy, who comes from a big family with an alcoholic mother and womanising father, leaves home to marry Tom and they have a son, Johnny. Tom mentally and physically abuses Joy and shows little interest or affection. He has been in prison for four years and, when he is jailed again after
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had cameras on us. So before a take, he’d say something to Carol, and then he would say something to me, and we only discovered once the camera was rolling that he’d given us completely different directions. That’s why he needed two cameras, because he needed the confusion and the spontaneity.
38:
461:" in early 1968 in a different arrangement and with altered lyrics. For example, the standard release version opens with the line "I dwell in the north in the green country", while the version in the film opens with the line "I dwell in the town in the grey country".
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and Johnny missing. Joy frantically searches for Johnny and finally finds him alone on a demolition site where he has gone to play. Realising how much Johnny means to her, Joy decides to stay with Tom despite the abuse, but continues to dream of a future with Dave.
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criticised the film as "downright awful" and particularly criticised "the tiresomely obvious documentary shots constantly thrown in to emphasise the ugliness of our couple’s surroundings", although he did praise
Terence Stamp's performance as "superb".
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stated that it "isn't a very good movie" but also labeled it as a potential sign for a new phase in recent
British films of the time distinct from the social realism and satire films of the time as one made "in equal parts of squalor and techniques."
508:". The review characterised Loach's direction as an "incongruous mixture of realism and romanticism" that, along with the cinematography, "suffuses the material in a cheery glow of
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The film was a surprise success at the box office. It sold to the US for more than its production cost and did extremely well in Italy and
Britain. According to
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was critical of the film, summing it up as a "superficial, slightly patronising incursion into the nether realms of
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gave the film four stars out of five and described the film as "incredibly moving".
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Other songs by
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After briefly sharing a room with her Aunt Emm, an aging
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766:"Ken Loach's Poor Cow reviewed - archive, 1967"
556:On the film's re-release in 2016, Kate Muir in
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729:Kinematograph Weekly, 14 December 1968, p. 6
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512:that often verges on sentimentality."
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243:$ 1,400,000 (US/ Canada)
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751:British Film Institute
541:wrote in her review: "
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282:novel of the same name
692:accessed 16 July 2013
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383:as young man in field
280:based on Dunn's 1967
166:Vic Films Productions
1358:Films shot in London
1275:The Flickering Flame
1187:It's a Free World...
488:Kinematograph Weekly
260:) is a 1967 British
235:£210,000 or £228,206
1388:1960s British films
1353:Films set in London
1323:British drama films
1235:Sorry We Missed You
793:(1 February 1968).
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19:For the novel, see
1107:Ladybird, Ladybird
921:Works directed by
800:The New York Times
605:Hollywood, England
603:Alexander Walker,
538:The New York Times
403:as customer in pub
371:as customer in pub
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1290:The Spirit of '45
1211:The Angels' Share
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978:The Rank and File
841:"Poor Cow (1967)"
576:Steven Soderbergh
495:Critical response
433:Filming locations
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357:Billy Murray
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207:Running time
183:Release date
135:Brian Probyn
126:Billy Murray
93:
89:Joseph Janni
81:by Nell Dunn
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25:
1243:The Old Oak
1203:Route Irish
1051:Family Life
550:Roger Ebert
530:Film critic
515:Writing in
413:Development
365:as Mr Jacks
347:as Aunt Emm
339:John Bindon
327:Carol White
309:promiscuity
270:Carol White
211:101 minutes
114:John Bindon
110:Carol White
86:Produced by
51:Directed by
1313:1967 films
1307:Categories
1075:Fatherland
1059:Black Jack
930:Television
640:"Poor Cow"
588:References
481:Box office
408:Production
375:Anna Karen
369:Tony Selby
298:prostitute
240:Box office
194:1967-12-05
159:Production
1091:Riff-Raff
923:Ken Loach
845:The Times
649:16 August
581:The Limey
566:Later use
559:The Times
443:Battersea
320:Main cast
278:Nell Dunn
266:Ken Loach
198: (UK)
143:Roy Watts
140:Edited by
97:Nat Cohen
94:executive
68:Ken Loach
65:Nell Dunn
55:Ken Loach
1035:Poor Cow
881:Poor Cow
870:Poor Cow
850:11 April
775:11 April
741:Poor Cow
671:11 April
584:(1999).
578:'s film
572:Poor Cow
543:Poor Cow
510:lyricism
423:(1966):
397:as Billy
353:as Beryl
251:Poor Cow
224:Language
148:Music by
102:Starring
77:Poor Cow
73:Based on
44:Poor Cow
31:Poor Cow
1282:McLibel
1171:Tickets
1025:Feature
873:at the
688:AV Club
627:Variety
476:Release
466:Colours
455:Donovan
305:barmaid
227:English
216:Country
192: (
161:company
152:Donovan
79:(novel)
1293:(2013)
1285:(1997)
1277:(1997)
1271:(1995)
1265:(1971)
1246:(2023)
1238:(2019)
1230:(2016)
1222:(2014)
1214:(2012)
1206:(2010)
1198:(2009)
1190:(2007)
1182:(2006)
1174:(2005)
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1142:(2000)
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1086:(1990)
1078:(1986)
1070:(1981)
1062:(1979)
1054:(1971)
1046:(1969)
1038:(1967)
1017:(1985)
1011:(1981)
1005:(1980)
997:(1977)
989:(1975)
981:(1971)
973:(1969)
965:(1967)
957:(1966)
949:(1965)
941:(1965)
810:1 July
341:as Tom
329:as Joy
232:Budget
1027:films
449:Music
886:IMDb
852:2020
812:2020
777:2020
673:2020
651:2024
288:Plot
272:and
1043:Kes
884:at
535:of
441:in
1309::
843:.
803:.
797:.
768:.
642:.
596:^
521:,
472:.
313:TV
914:e
907:t
900:v
854:.
828:.
814:.
779:.
739:"
705:.
675:.
653:.
196:)
23:.
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