Billy Liar - 50th Anniversary

For the first time available on DVD and Blu-ray in fully restored glory, this British answer to ‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’ was part of the British new wave/kitchen sink drama, and stars Tom Courtenay as the lying daydreamer.

Filmed in 1963 in the Yorkshire city of Bradford, the stark b/w cinematography adds to the gritty and drab feel – a world which ‘our anti-hero forever tries to escape via means of daydreaming.

Based on the well-loved novel by Keith Waterhouse, the story centres around young William Fisher (‘Billy Liar’), who, day after day, sees himself confronted with his unsympathetic working class family, and an insecure and joyless job as a clerk at the local undertaker. As if it weren’t enough, our serial engager furthermore has to deal with his nagging and demanding fiancées, in particular Barbara (Helen Fraser). Telling lies to everyone from morning to night, for example, that his father is a retired naval captain, only worsens the situation as no one takes him serious.
As a result, he escapes into a dream world in which he is the ruler of a fictional island – we see him in various roles as a political leader who gets his own military parades to honour him, we see him waving at the cheering crowds from a balcony, in short, we see him surrounded by all the pomp and luxury he could never gain in the real world.

If there is one thing, however, that William wants to change about his life in the real world, then it is moving to London to pursue his apparent talents as a budding scriptwriter. Even then we can’t be sure whether that’s just a mere flight of fancy.

Things seem slightly on the up when one day, he encounters Liz (Julie Christie), a free-thinking individual who brings a little glamour and change into his drab surroundings. She is – literally – the ticket to turn his life around.
When eventually he gets a train ticket to London, he boards the train together with Liz. At the last moment, courage fails him and with the excuse to quickly step out of the carriage to get some milk for the journey, he makes his way to the vending machine. Looking at two cartons of milk (presumably one for Liz, and the other for himself), he is shaken out of his thoughts when he hears the train departing from the platform. Running after it, he is unable to make it back onto the train in time, and Liz looks at him out of the window with a certain smile on her face, as if she had known it’s going to end like this.

William – angry with himself – throws the cartons of milk onto the rail tracks and makes his way back home. In the final scene, we see him walking along the deserted road that leads to his parent’s house. But his vivid imagination quickly gets the better of him again, and he is accompanied by a huge parade behind him. He enters the parental house and thus returns to his little world that is drab by all means, but ultimately safe.

Tom Courtenay is perfect casting for the lead, and was no stranger to the role, as he had understudied Albert Finney in the theatre production of Billy Liar.
Director John Schlesinger (‘Midnight Cowboy’) sensitively directs all the cast and the result is one of the best British comedy dramas ever.

Bonus material includes various interviews, stills gallery, trailer, as well as a look through the Keith Waterhouse archive.