If....
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Lindsay Anderson
Malcolm Mcdowell
David Wood
Richard Warwick
Christine Noonan
Rupert Webster
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
As winter term begins at the College House boarding school for boys, students settle themselves into assigned dormitory rooms. House prefects ("Whips") quickly assert their puritanical authority by subjecting the new arrivals to humiliating rituals. Although this tyrannical behavior is accepted by the administration as part of school tradition, some students refuse to yield to the system. Mick Travers, a nonconformist upperclassman, covers his wall with magazine photos and maintains that "violence and revolution are the only pure acts"; his two rebellious companions are Johnny and Wallace, the latter a superb gymnast desired by some of the school's homosexual students. During a rugby match, Mick and Johnny sneak away to town, steal a motorcycle, and spend the afternoon with a young waitress. When they return to school, the Head of House, Rowntree, punishes them for their disrespect by flogging them brutally in the gymnasium. Now provoked into open rebellion, Mick shoots and bayonets the chaplain during a field exercise, but the headmaster conceals his displeasure and offers the boys a chance to redeem themselves by clearing away junk that has accumulated under the stage of the College Hall. They find a pile of arms and ammunition in the rubble and store them until "Speech Day" arrives; then, as alumnus General Denson addresses a hall filled with faculty, students, and visiting guests, the rebels set a fire under the floor boards. As the audience pours out into the quad, Mick and his allies, including the waitress, greet them with a hail of fire from the roof; when the headmaster steps forward shouting "trust me," the girl shoots him through the head. General Denson leads a counter-attack as Mick and his friends continue firing.
Director
Lindsay Anderson
Cast
Malcolm Mcdowell
David Wood
Richard Warwick
Christine Noonan
Rupert Webster
Robert Swann
Hugh Thomas
Michael Cadman
Peter Sproule
Peter Jeffrey
Arthur Lowe
Mona Washbourne
Mary Macleod
Geoffrey Chater
Ben Aris
Graham Crowden
Charles Lloyd Pack
Anthony Nicholls
Tommy Godfrey
John Garrie
Guy Ross
Robin Askwith
Richard Everett
Philip Bagenal
Nicholas Page
Robert Yetzes
David Griffin
Graham Sharman
Richard Tombleson
Richard Davies
Brian Pettifer
Michael Newport
Charles Sturridge
Sean Bury
Martin Beaumont
Ellis Dale
Crew
Lindsay Anderson
Roy Baird
Stuart Baird
Zelda Barron
Alan Bell
Betty Blattner
Valerie Booth
Miriam Brickman
Jack Carter
Shura Cohen
Brian Eatwell
Michael Ellis
Stephen Frears
David Gladwell
Brian Harris
Jocelyn Herbert
John Howlett
Roy Larner
Gavrik Losey
Michael Medwin
Chris Menges
Miroslav Ondricek
Ian Rakoff
Michael Seresin
David Sherwin
David Sherwin
John Stoneman
Neville Thompson
Doug Turner
Christian Wangler
Marc Wilkinson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place.- Mick Travis
Trivia
The apparently haphazard switching between black and white and color footage in the film is not for any particular artistic reason on Lindsay Anderson's part, but for monetary reasons. Anderson shot the film out of sequence, and by the time he reached the end of shooting, he had gone over budget. To save money, the rest of the scenes were shot with cheaper black and white stock.
The film was shot at director Lindsay Anderson's actual old school in Cheltenham, England.
Although the film was shot at Cheltenham College, the script "Crusaders" was based on the authors' old school Tonbridge School. Tonbridge was the original choice for the outdoor shots, but the school declined believing it would bring bad publicity. All-boys boarding schools were receiving quite unfavourable press at the time, which might explain Tonbridge's decision.
Notes
Location scenes filmed in Gloucestershire and London. Opened in London December 1968. Initially rated "X," Paramount deleted the objectionable frames, and the film was rerated "R."
Miscellaneous Notes
The United Kingdom
Winner of the Palme d'Or for Best Film at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.
Voted One of Ten Best Films by the New York Times Critics for 1969.
Released in United States Winter December 1968
Re-released in United States January 12, 2001
Released in United States 2000
Music extract "Sanctus" from the "Missa Luba".
Re-released in United Kingdom March 1, 2002.
Released in United States Winter December 1968
Re-released in United States January 12, 2001 (Film Forum; New York City)
Released in United States 2000 (Shown in New York City (Film Forum) as part of program "The British New Wave: From Angry Young Men to Swinging London" October 27 - November 16, 2000.)
