The Likely Lads (film)

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The Likely Lads is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Michael Tuchner, starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. This is a spin-off of What Happens to a Possible Man? , even though it shares the title with the early 1960's British television series The Likely Lads , which Anything is a sequel.

This scenario was written by screenplay writer Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais; and the main roles of Bob and Terry, as well as the wife of Bob Thelma and Terry's sister, Audrey, played by the original television actor.

Video The Likely Lads (film)

Plot
A pre-credits opening order shows the conception of both Lads during the Second World War air raids. After the opening title of the film was cut into Bob and Terry, both about thirty years old, playing soccer with several boys.
The main plot starts with Bob's favorite water hole and Terry, Fat Ox, destroyed. Bob's middle class feels great sentimentality for this loss, while the working class Terry, who now lives in the high board flats, is more optimistic about rebuilding the city, showing that he now has "modern kitchen, beautiful scenery and bathroom inside". From this sequence of establishments, the storyline is revealed: Terry accepted his final divorce decision, freed him from his wife in West Germany, and looked forward to a bright future; Bob on the other hand gets bored with his married life with Thelma, and is tired of his social activities (two things he's proud of in the television series).
Terry is now in a relationship with Christina (or 'Chris' as she knows it), a Finnish woman working in a local boutique, where Bob is openly envious. Thelma sees this as an opportunity to make Terry marry and settle down, thus eliminating the perceived threat to his marriage to Bob Terry, as Bob's best lifelong friend, represents. In his pursuit, Thelma insisted that the four of them would go on a caravan holiday in Northumberland; but while Thelma and Chris enjoy the ride, Bob and Terry are not. They set up caravans, with the girls falling asleep in them, and set out to go home. However, while they were silent on a set of temporary traffic lights, Thelma and Chris came out and Bob drove them out before they could get back in, dumping them in front of the church leading to the town market congregation. Unaware that they are alone now, Bob and Terry keep taking Sandra and Glenys, two attractive young hikers, before Thelma and Chris catch up with them again.
As a result of that trip, Terry and Chris split up, and Bob and Thelma split up. Bob decides to stay temporarily in Terry's new flat; but Terry (who does not expect him) is busy wooing Iris, a colleague of Chris', and Bob unknowingly walks over their love. Due to misunderstandings, both Bob and Thelma believe the others have sex elsewhere, and have angry arguments behind the employer's van Terry. Unbeknownst to them, the van's public address system is still activated because Terry has advertised the latest washing powder, ExtraLite, broadcasting their arguments throughout the environment. Terry lost his job because of this incident.
Bob and Terry drove to Whitley Bay for a weekend getaway, and took a room at the bed and breakfast. Bob immediately teased the landlady's daughter, while Terry was teased by the landlady. After hearing voices from the bedroom his daughter the landlady came in and Bob had to get out through the bedroom window. The same thing happened to Terry, with the girl walking on it in bed with her mother; this time Terry made a quick and unobtrusive departure through the bedroom window. But when the homeowner comes down to the front door to let Terry back, Bob appears instead, without his trousers, causing him to cry rape. The Lads are in a hurry - and without pants - set off in Bob's car. They return to Terry's flat safely only to find Thelma's sister and Terry, Audrey, there, neither Bob nor Terry can explain the absence of their trousers.
Taking Audrey's advice, Terry makes plans to emigrate. He signed as dekhand on the ship leaving the Newcastle dock, and the two young men spent his last night in England drinking on board. Unbeknownst to Bob, Terry decided not to leave. He landed; but Bob, very drunk, fell asleep on the boat, and woke up in a lifeboat to find the ship had sailed. The last scene in the film was Terry who explained to Thelma that they would realize that Bob was on the ship by accident and put him in Bahrain's first port of call.
Throughout the movie Bob's car, the Vauxhall Chevette was recently introduced as a humiliation of as much as a human character, having stolen wheels, falling in the way to Terry's horror, crash with a caravan and while running away without pants from the guest house, insisted Bob break the window to get in. , only for Terry to find the door unlocked, and suggested that Bob should be more careful.
Maps The Likely Lads (film)

Cast

Rodney Bewes as Bob Ferris
James Bolam as Terry Collier
Brigit Forsyth as Thelma Ferris
Mary Tamm as Christina
Sheila Fearn as Audrey Collier
Zena Walker as Laura
Anulka Dziubinska as Dawn
Armstrong's Square as a Milkman
Judy Buxton as Iris
Vicki Michelle as Glenys
Penny Irving as Sandy
Edward Wilson as Les Ferris
Michelle Newell as Alice Ferris
Gordon Griffin as Cyril Collier
Susan Tracy as Edith Collier
Roger Avon as Joe the Landlord
Ronald Lacey as Ernie
Elizabeth Lax as Wendy
Linda Robson as Marsha
Ian McDiarmid as a Vicar
Eric Mason as Truck Driver

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Production

The film is illuminated by Nat Cohen from EMI Films. Cohen has enjoyed success in making popular British TV series movies. EMI has an agreement with Thames Television.

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Location

The film was made at EMI's Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire and at a location on Tyneside, in and around Newcastle and Whitley Bay. The locations used include the entertainment spots of the Spanish City in Whitley Bay, Beehive's public house, Coast Road (A1058) flat and Tynemouth Pier.

Terry's imaginary company, "Extralight" washed powder, filmed at Greggs Christon Road Dept, Gosforth
Terry's plateau - Howdon, Wallsend (The used flat was destroyed in the 1990s)
The church where Thelma and Chris were abandoned - Corbridge, Northumberland. The road layout is the same, but the road is now a one-way system, and the traffic flow is opposite to the one in the movie.
The caravan trip takes place across the Tyne Bridge and passes Rothbury, Northumberland
The Beehive '- Earsdon caravan and pub site, and Whitley Bay Caravan Park near St Mary' s Lighthouse
Bob gets some flowers trapped inside the bus after Terry does the "above sound" on him on Market Street (This area is now heavily skirted by pedestrians for being filmed)
Beach - Whitley Bay
Wallsend High Street - where Bob crosses the zebra cross in front of Terry's van. The Greenwood store is still on the corner of Atkinson Terrace.
The City Street in Quayside is where Bob is rescued from the roof of the building.
The Borehamwood library is where Thelma laid the stone at his feet.
The Extralight (Radio Free Ferris) powder demonstration was filmed at the intersection of Link Drive and Park Crescent, Borehamwood
Terry's flat is in Taunton Close, Willington Square, Wallsend. It is one of three flat blocks that are locally referred to as 'fourteen stories' and stand on the south side of the A1058 'coastal road' across from George Angus's engineering work. Terry's depot was filmed on George Angus's former site on Coast Road, Wallsend. Since then it has been destroyed and B & Q now occupies the site.
The Black Horse pub is Collingwood's pub in Jesmond.
The bed and breakfast, known in the movie as Ivanhoe, where they were discarded, is at Links, Whitley Bay. The Briar Dene pub is only visible in the background as they draw in the car.
Total gas stations are at the intersection of Harmondsworth Road and Holloway Lane, Hillingdon, London, next to Heathrow Airport. This site is currently owned by Shell.

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Critical reception

Like many films adapted from British television shows in the 1970s, the film was largely unacceptable at the time by critics. Coventry Evening Telegraph feels this film only "magnifies the failure of these sitcom ideas". Daily Mirror positive in their review, commented: "Movies based on TV series rarely successfully moved to the big screen. The Likely Lads are exceptions." They praised the film's "very entertaining situation", "keen dialogue" and "real-life characters". Then, in 2004 received five stars on the movie's Radio Times guide, and also received good reviews on What's on TV .

The film is ranked M in New Zealand for the sexual theme, "Suitable for adult viewers 16 and older."