Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire
Encyclopedia
Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire is a 1985 British musical film starring Phil Daniels
and Alun Armstrong
. The film was directed by Alan Clarke
and written by Trevor Preston.
player. His manager, T.O. (The One), a compulsive gambler, falls into debt with psychopathic loanshark the Wednesday Man, who offers to cancel T.O's debt if he can arrange a 17-frame grudge snooker match between Billy, and the reigning world champion Maxwell Randall (popularly known as the Green Baize Vampire).
To ensure that both players will agree to the match, T.O hires a journalist, Miss Sullivan, to stir up trouble between them. She interviews Billy and the Vampire separately, asks them leading questions intended to elicit angry responses and provoke enmity, then prints the results. The match is set.
Unknown to T.O., the Wednesday Man has hidden motives regarding the match. The sinister loanshark has engineered a clause in the game's legal documentation to the effect that the loser will agree to never play professional snooker again. Though the Vampire is close to retirement, Billy is young, and such a clause—if he loses—would greatly disadvantage him. T.O. only agrees when the Wednesday Man suggests that the Vampire will "not be at his best"; a clear insinuation that he will be bribed, or threatened. It is only later that T.O. discovers that this is a lie, and that the Wednesday Man is plotting with the Vampire, hates both him and Billy, and wishes to see them suffer.
The match goes very badly for Billy, but when T.O. finally confesses, during a break, of his underhand dealings with the Wednesday Man (and the Vampire himself) he manages to pull himself together and eventually win the match.
Phil Daniels
Philip W. "Phil" Daniels is an English actor, most noted for film and television roles as "cockneys" such as Jimmy in Quadrophenia, Richards in Scum, Stewart in The Class of Miss MacMichael, Mark in Meantime, Kevin Wicks in EastEnders, DCS Frank Patterson in New Tricks and Edward Kitchener "Ted"...
and Alun Armstrong
Alun Armstrong (actor)
Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
. The film was directed by Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today...
and written by Trevor Preston.
Plot
Billy the Kid is a young, up-and-coming snookerSnooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
player. His manager, T.O. (The One), a compulsive gambler, falls into debt with psychopathic loanshark the Wednesday Man, who offers to cancel T.O's debt if he can arrange a 17-frame grudge snooker match between Billy, and the reigning world champion Maxwell Randall (popularly known as the Green Baize Vampire).
To ensure that both players will agree to the match, T.O hires a journalist, Miss Sullivan, to stir up trouble between them. She interviews Billy and the Vampire separately, asks them leading questions intended to elicit angry responses and provoke enmity, then prints the results. The match is set.
Unknown to T.O., the Wednesday Man has hidden motives regarding the match. The sinister loanshark has engineered a clause in the game's legal documentation to the effect that the loser will agree to never play professional snooker again. Though the Vampire is close to retirement, Billy is young, and such a clause—if he loses—would greatly disadvantage him. T.O. only agrees when the Wednesday Man suggests that the Vampire will "not be at his best"; a clear insinuation that he will be bribed, or threatened. It is only later that T.O. discovers that this is a lie, and that the Wednesday Man is plotting with the Vampire, hates both him and Billy, and wishes to see them suffer.
The match goes very badly for Billy, but when T.O. finally confesses, during a break, of his underhand dealings with the Wednesday Man (and the Vampire himself) he manages to pull himself together and eventually win the match.
Cast
- Phil DanielsPhil DanielsPhilip W. "Phil" Daniels is an English actor, most noted for film and television roles as "cockneys" such as Jimmy in Quadrophenia, Richards in Scum, Stewart in The Class of Miss MacMichael, Mark in Meantime, Kevin Wicks in EastEnders, DCS Frank Patterson in New Tricks and Edward Kitchener "Ted"...
as Billy the Kid (snooker player) - Bruce PayneBruce PayneBruce Martyn Payne is an award winning English character actor and producer and was a member of the 1980's Brit Pack. Although he is best known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum...
as T.O. ('The One', Billy's manager) - Richard RidingsRichard RidingsRichard Ridings is a British actor and is best known for his portrayal of Allan Ashburn in the ITV television drama Fat Friends, and for playing Bernard Green in the BBC1 comedy-drama Common as Muck. He trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.Ridings was born in...
as Egypt (Billy's minder) - Alun ArmstrongAlun Armstrong (actor)Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
as Maxwell Randall (the Vampire) - Don HendersonDon HendersonDon Henderson was an English actor whose film and TV work covered many years but is best remembered for his role as the fictional detective George Bulman...
as The Wednesday Man (loanshark) - Louise GoldLouise GoldLouise Gold is an English singer, actress and puppeteer whose career has spanned almost four decades.From 1977, Gold was a puppeteer and voice actress for The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, and she has performed voice and puppet work on various other Muppet films and specials...
as Miss Sullivan (reporter) - Zoot MoneyZoot MoneyGeorge Bruno Money, known as Zoot Money is a British vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band...
as Supersonic Sam (cafe owner) - Eve Ferret as Mrs Randall (the Vampire's wife)
- Neil McCaul as Big Jack Jay (Snooker compere)
- Johnny Dennis as Referee
- Ralph Morse as guitarist
Songs
- "Green Stamps" – sung by Billy
- "Poker Song" – T.O.
- "Supersonic Sam's Cosmic Cafe" – Billy and the Cafe denizens
- "I Bite Back" – the Vampire
- "I'm the One" – T.O.
- "BtKatGBV (Practice Practice Practice)" – Miss Sullivan
- "Snooker (So Much More Than Just a Game)" – Big Jack Jay
- "Kid to Break" – Billy and the cast
- "Quack Quack" – the match crowd
- "It's the Fame Game" – Billy and the cast
- "White Lines Black Cadillac" – T.O.