Bronco Bullfrog

Proof if it were needed that not everything was bright and shiny for everyone in those infamous 'swinging sixties'. Here a largely improvised series of incidents is filmed on location in Stratford and Greenwich. The second half with the girlfriend and vague plans to leave home is more successful that the first mainly centred around a robbery at a goods marshalling yard but the whole has a likeable enough rolling gait to it that feels authentic enough. Ironic of course that the lack of acting ability tends to give the impression of inauthenticity. Fortunately the essential good nature of the participants and the reliance on location shooting ensures that this is far more interesting than it might have been had it been over rehearsed and shot in a studio. Lots of fabulous shots of a less than fabulous Stratford of the time and now almost all replaced. Most of the war torn and.prefab strewn streets were soon to be built on and more recently the Olympic Park would smooth out and gentrify much of the rest. The short sequence at the end of the film is particularly interesting showing the Greenwich foot tunnel and the riverside power station. Both are still in use but the ships seen alongside and the working docks beyond are long gone. Not the finest film in the world but a valuable document of late sixties east London and pleasant enough watch.

Made in 1969 for the price of a second hand bike (more or less) this film is all about being young and having nowt. Del is working in a factory when he meets the teenage Anne and his hormones take over and he just wants to be with her. He does have a motor bike though and can afford the odd bag of chips. He also has some mates and one of these is Bronco Bullfrog.

Bronco is a bit of a legend as he has been in borstal and has returned to his old haunts and habits because he has nowhere else to go. This is a kitchen sink drama – without the sink. It was made by Barney Platts – Mills with a cast of non actors in order to keep the costs down. What he has come up with is a great little film and a rather nice time capsule on the sixties just where we were going to tip into the optimistic seventies and the fashions certainly reflect that.

He has loads of little things here that were ordinary then, but have been lost to the mists of time – like getting one person into the cinema then they let everyone else in through the fire exit – brilliant. This is not a great film of itself it but there is so much here to admire and appreciate that it becomes the sum of its parts and is a rewarding watch for it. A testament to a lost Britain.

It´s a social realistic film. We follow some kids in the late teens, some in school and some at work. There is not really a story or the story isn't that important. Boy meets girl meets no acceptance from home so they run away. They team up with Bronco Bullfrog who has escaped from borstal. The best thing about the film is that we can follow normal working class kids in East End in London during the era of the Skinheads. So we get a non political view from skinheads, even if you may call them Suedeheads or whatever subcategory you like. There is no actors in the film, everybody is handpicked from the streets. The "bad" acting helps the real feeling. But you could always asked more from the director regarding the tightness of the film. I rated it 7 of 10.

Given that the people behind the camera would have been trained in their skills why should this not apply to the actors I front of the camera.There is really no story and the dialogue is terse.This though does not prevent long scenes with little pace or purpose..All in all a pointless exercise

I got the feeling that there was little or no script just an idea that was built upon as they went along. It was the first and last piece of acting any of the cast did and it shows, there is very little passion coming from any of them, delivery was all very wooden. I've tried to find out what happened to any of the young cast, Sam Shepard, Jo, came to the showing of the restored film in Brighton and Anne Gooding, Irene, had died, of what it didn't say. Everyone must have got 'proper jobs'.

There is no explanation as to why Jo is called Bronco Bullfrog. He spends a lot less screen time than Del and Irene so why the film is call Bronco Bullfrog is a mystery to me.

What's good about it? The snapshot of late sixties London, barely any cars, prefabs, dreary streets before the culture explosion of the Olympics. No CCTV or mobile phones. The Stratford of today and dockland areas are unrecognizable here. Woolworths dominating the high street, men's shirts for 20/- pre decimal.

The soundtrack by Audience is perfect, some from their Friends's, Friend's, Friend album.

All in all worth watching once.