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Scum (film)
Encyclopedia
Scum is a 1979 British crime
drama film
directed by Alan Clarke
, portraying the brutality of life inside a British
borstal
. The story was originally made for the BBC
's Play for Today
strand in 1977, however due to the violence depicted in the film, it was withdrawn from broadcast. Two years later, director Alan Clarke and scriptwriter Roy Minton
remade it as a film, first shown on Channel 4
in 1983. By this time the borstal system had been reformatted and eventually allowed the original TV version to be aired.
The film tells the story of a young offender named Carlin as he arrives at the institution, and his rise through violence and self-protection to the top of the inmates' pecking order, purely as a tool to survive. Beyond Carlin's individual storyline, it is also cast as an indictment of the borstal system's flaws with no attempt at rehabilitation. The warders and convicts alike are brutalised by the system. The film's controversy was derived from its graphic depiction of racism
, extreme violence, rape
, suicide
, many fights and very strong language.
Scum would be one of the most controversial British films of the early 1980s, but has since become regarded as a popular classic.
Carlin is incarcerated after taking the blame for his brother (who had numerous convictions) who had stolen scrap metal. Angel is in the Borstal for stealing a car, and Davis has been sent to the higher security institute after escaping from an open institution. All three are allocated to their rooms; Angel and Davis sent to private rooms, and Carlin sent to a dormitory.
Carlin arrives at the borstal intent on keeping a low profile, having been transferred from another institution for assaulting a warder (claimed by Carlin as self-defence). He meets and befriends Archer, an eccentric and intellectual inmate who is intent on being as problematic as possible without receiving punishment, who informs Carlin that his reputation is already known; and that Banks, the current "Daddy" (the inmate who “runs“ the Borstal), would be seeking Carlin out.
Carlin struggles to settle into the dormitory, and after having watched the timid and bullied Davis be attacked by Banks, is eventually beaten up by Banks and his friends in an unprovoked attack.
A significant section of the film is the racial abuse directed at black inmate Angel, whom Carlin had been transported to the Borstal with. Following a beating by Banks, he refuses to confess to warden Mr. Sands in fear of being a “grass,” and receives yet more racial abuse from Mr Sands. He is put on report for both fighting and damaging government property.
Carlin eventually settles down, choosing not to react to the provocation of Banks and his gang until he can find the right moment. In a graphically violent sequence, he makes a makeshift temporary cosh from a long sock with two snooker balls inside, and strikes Richards (one of Banks‘ sidekicks) across the face with it. Carlin then proceeds to confront Banks in the bathroom and beats him into submission, replacing Banks as the “Daddy” of the ward. Mr Sands tries to get Banks to confess that it was Carlin who beat him due to in-house favouritism, but Banks refuses to. Carlin later acquires power over the adjacent wing of the borstal by administering a vicious beating to the adjacent wing's Daddy, known as Baldy, with a wooden cosh (Baldy having challenged Carlin to the conflict). Carlin leaves the wing in charge of Baldy, but affirms that he is the Daddy of the entire borstal, rendering Baldy under Carlin’s command, shortly after leaving baldy on the floor of the furnace room, he throws the cosh on the floor confirming it to be a very solid wooden implement.
Life improves for the inmates under Carlin, with the victimisation of younger, weaker prisoners being prevented, along with racially-motivated violence. Carlin also gains status with the warders. He persuades Mr. Goodyear to move him from the dormitory to a single cell in return for an agreement to be responsible in his status as a "natural leader". Goodyear offers Carlin a position of leadership in the borstal to help him develop his leadership skills.
Carlin does, however, reduce the amount of money prisoners can keep from the notes brought in from outside, to establish his credentials.
During a group discussion session with the matron (the only female character in the film and perhaps a mother figure), Toyne, a black inmate, receives a letter telling him that his wife has died. He becomes very withdrawn and depressed, reaching a climax when a fellow inmate is allowed to temporarily leave the Borstal to get married. Toyne eventually suffers a mental breakdown and, in a graphic scene, cuts his wrist. It is later discovered that his suicide attempt failed, but after being transferred to Wormwood Scrubs, he attempted suicide again and succeeded in killing himself.
Davis is framed for theft by Eckersley and placed on report. Carlin advises Davis to lie low and try to avoid them; but ultimately cannot save the youngster, who is subsequently gang-raped in a highly violent, and perhaps the film’s most well-known, scene; overlooked by Mr. Sands who merely smiles at the rape. This sends Davis into a manic depression and, after his pleas of despair are ignored by warden Mr. Greaves, he kills himself by slashing his wrists in his cell at night.
Davis’ suicide causes mass hysteria within the prison, with all inmates from all wards refusing to eat their food at dinner. Carlin, after being picked on by Mr. Sands during the food strike, initiates a full-scale riot in the dinner hall, causing mass destruction of the hall perpetrated by all the prisoners. Carlin, Archer and Meakin (one of Toyne’s closest friends, Toyne having committed suicide earlier) are shown being dragged unconscious into solitary confinement after being savagely beaten to within inches of their life by the wardens. An assembly of the inmates is then conducted, with the governor of the Borstal informing them that the damage to the dinner hall will be repaid through lost earnings. The film ends with The Governor declaring a minute's silent prayer for Davis and Toyne.
and Martin Philips from the original are replaced with Mick Ford and Julian Firth in the film. The story was also changed. The BBC version features a homosexual relationship between Carlin and another inmate, which was dropped from the film. Minton later said that this was a pity as it would have expanded Carlin's character and made him vulnerable in an area where he could not afford to be vulnerable.
The television play version of the film also features less graphic rape and suicide scenes. An additional scene shows Davis trying to talk to Carlin about the incident. Carlin dismisses him when he refuses to talk in front of his 'missus' (partner). He then commits suicide. In the remake, the relationship between Carlin and his 'missus' doesn't feature. Instead, during the mess, Davis looks up at Carlin from the dining table as if about to confide in him, but Carlin unwittingly chooses that moment to get up and leave.
Also in the television play, it's made clear Banks is in hospital - resulting from the beating administered by Carlin when ousting him as the "daddy" - at the end of the film; in the theatrical version he is present at the end moment of silence.
initially won her private prosecution in the High Court
case against Channel 4 for showing the film, the Independent Broadcasting Authority
had approved its transmission, but Channel 4 later won on appeal.
In 2010 an American film which was heavily based of the film Scum was made called Dog Pound
.
video in the UK in 1983, where it was immediately caught up in the UK Video nasty
controversy of the early 1980s.
It was later released on DVD
in the UK by Odyssey and Prism Leisure. It was the digitally remastered uncut version but in fullscreen, with only a trailer and an interview as bonus features. In the US an Alan Clarke boxset was issued that included several films, among them both the BBC original and cinema version of the film plus audio commentaries. Prism Leisure released a limited edition 2-disc set in the UK in 2005. Disc One featured the BBC version with an audio commentary and two interviews. Disc Two instead featured the theatrical remake with an audio commentary, several interviews and featurettes and two trailers. It was digitally remastered from a widescreen print. This special edition DVD was sold in amaray slipcase packaging and also in a limited edition tin case. A Region 0 DVD - very similar to that in the Alan Clarke boxset, but this time available separately from other Clarke films - followed in the US, released by Blue Underground.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
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...
, portraying the brutality of life inside a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
. The story was originally made for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
strand in 1977, however due to the violence depicted in the film, it was withdrawn from broadcast. Two years later, director Alan Clarke and scriptwriter Roy Minton
Roy Minton
Roy Minton is an English playwright best known for Scum and his other work with Alan Clarke. He is notable for having written over 30 one-off scripts for London Weekend Television, Rediffusion, BBC, ATV, Granada, Thames Television and Yorkshire Television, including Sling Your Hook, Horace, Funny...
remade it as a film, first shown on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 1983. By this time the borstal system had been reformatted and eventually allowed the original TV version to be aired.
The film tells the story of a young offender named Carlin as he arrives at the institution, and his rise through violence and self-protection to the top of the inmates' pecking order, purely as a tool to survive. Beyond Carlin's individual storyline, it is also cast as an indictment of the borstal system's flaws with no attempt at rehabilitation. The warders and convicts alike are brutalised by the system. The film's controversy was derived from its graphic depiction of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, extreme violence, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, many fights and very strong language.
Scum would be one of the most controversial British films of the early 1980s, but has since become regarded as a popular classic.
Plot
The film begins with three young, handcuffed men in a police vehicle, being driven to a borstal; namely Angel, Davis, and the main character Carlin.Carlin is incarcerated after taking the blame for his brother (who had numerous convictions) who had stolen scrap metal. Angel is in the Borstal for stealing a car, and Davis has been sent to the higher security institute after escaping from an open institution. All three are allocated to their rooms; Angel and Davis sent to private rooms, and Carlin sent to a dormitory.
Carlin arrives at the borstal intent on keeping a low profile, having been transferred from another institution for assaulting a warder (claimed by Carlin as self-defence). He meets and befriends Archer, an eccentric and intellectual inmate who is intent on being as problematic as possible without receiving punishment, who informs Carlin that his reputation is already known; and that Banks, the current "Daddy" (the inmate who “runs“ the Borstal), would be seeking Carlin out.
Carlin struggles to settle into the dormitory, and after having watched the timid and bullied Davis be attacked by Banks, is eventually beaten up by Banks and his friends in an unprovoked attack.
A significant section of the film is the racial abuse directed at black inmate Angel, whom Carlin had been transported to the Borstal with. Following a beating by Banks, he refuses to confess to warden Mr. Sands in fear of being a “grass,” and receives yet more racial abuse from Mr Sands. He is put on report for both fighting and damaging government property.
Carlin eventually settles down, choosing not to react to the provocation of Banks and his gang until he can find the right moment. In a graphically violent sequence, he makes a makeshift temporary cosh from a long sock with two snooker balls inside, and strikes Richards (one of Banks‘ sidekicks) across the face with it. Carlin then proceeds to confront Banks in the bathroom and beats him into submission, replacing Banks as the “Daddy” of the ward. Mr Sands tries to get Banks to confess that it was Carlin who beat him due to in-house favouritism, but Banks refuses to. Carlin later acquires power over the adjacent wing of the borstal by administering a vicious beating to the adjacent wing's Daddy, known as Baldy, with a wooden cosh (Baldy having challenged Carlin to the conflict). Carlin leaves the wing in charge of Baldy, but affirms that he is the Daddy of the entire borstal, rendering Baldy under Carlin’s command, shortly after leaving baldy on the floor of the furnace room, he throws the cosh on the floor confirming it to be a very solid wooden implement.
Life improves for the inmates under Carlin, with the victimisation of younger, weaker prisoners being prevented, along with racially-motivated violence. Carlin also gains status with the warders. He persuades Mr. Goodyear to move him from the dormitory to a single cell in return for an agreement to be responsible in his status as a "natural leader". Goodyear offers Carlin a position of leadership in the borstal to help him develop his leadership skills.
Carlin does, however, reduce the amount of money prisoners can keep from the notes brought in from outside, to establish his credentials.
During a group discussion session with the matron (the only female character in the film and perhaps a mother figure), Toyne, a black inmate, receives a letter telling him that his wife has died. He becomes very withdrawn and depressed, reaching a climax when a fellow inmate is allowed to temporarily leave the Borstal to get married. Toyne eventually suffers a mental breakdown and, in a graphic scene, cuts his wrist. It is later discovered that his suicide attempt failed, but after being transferred to Wormwood Scrubs, he attempted suicide again and succeeded in killing himself.
Davis is framed for theft by Eckersley and placed on report. Carlin advises Davis to lie low and try to avoid them; but ultimately cannot save the youngster, who is subsequently gang-raped in a highly violent, and perhaps the film’s most well-known, scene; overlooked by Mr. Sands who merely smiles at the rape. This sends Davis into a manic depression and, after his pleas of despair are ignored by warden Mr. Greaves, he kills himself by slashing his wrists in his cell at night.
Davis’ suicide causes mass hysteria within the prison, with all inmates from all wards refusing to eat their food at dinner. Carlin, after being picked on by Mr. Sands during the food strike, initiates a full-scale riot in the dinner hall, causing mass destruction of the hall perpetrated by all the prisoners. Carlin, Archer and Meakin (one of Toyne’s closest friends, Toyne having committed suicide earlier) are shown being dragged unconscious into solitary confinement after being savagely beaten to within inches of their life by the wardens. An assembly of the inmates is then conducted, with the governor of the Borstal informing them that the damage to the dinner hall will be repaid through lost earnings. The film ends with The Governor declaring a minute's silent prayer for Davis and Toyne.
Cast
- Ray WinstoneRay WinstoneRaymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
- Carlin - Mick FordMick FordMick Ford is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his portrayal of intellectual convict Archer in the cinema version of Scum. He also played Chico Barnes in the TV series based on the Dick Francis racing thrillers...
- Archer - Julian FirthJulian FirthJulian Firth is a British actor, best known for his roles as troubled inmate Davis in the cinematic version of the film Scum and as Brother Jerome in the long running television series Cadfael....
- Davis - John BlundellJohn BlundellJohn Blundell is a British actor, best known for playing the original 'daddy' Banks in the controversial movie Scum.Blundell played Banks in both the banned 1977 BBC version and the cinematic remake of the production two years later...
- Banks - 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"...
- Richards - John Judd - Sands
- Philip Jackson - Greaves
- Peter HowellPeter Howell (actor)Peter Howell is a British actor.A regular in 1950s television hospital drama series Emergency Ward 10, he has made guest appearances in The Avengers, The Prisoner, and Doctor Who. He played the prison governor in the 1979 film Scum. He played Saruman in the 1981 BBC Radio production of The Lord of...
- Governor - John Grillo - Goodyear
- Ray BurdisRay BurdisRay Burdis is an English actor, screenwriter, director and film producer.Burdis started acting at eleven years old when he trained at the Anna Scher Theatre in Islington...
- Eckersley - Alan IgbonAlan IgbonAlan Igbon is a British actor.Of West African and Irish background, Igbon has been a familiar jobbing actor since his teenage years when he took the background part of inmate Meakin in the 1979 cinematic re-make of the controversial borstal film Scum, whose character memorably launched an...
- Meakin - John Fowler - Woods
- Bill Dean - Duke
- P.H. Moriarty - Hunt
- Nigel HumphreysNigel HumphreysNigel Humphreys is a British actor, best known for his television work.His most prominent roles include Dickie Fleming in Coronation Street and PC Pete Dodds in Softly, Softly: Taskforce....
- Taylor - Jo KendallJo KendallJo Kendall is a British actress.She played Desdemona in a production of Othello at the A.D.C. Theatre, Cambridge in 1962.In August 1963 she appeared in the West End in London, New Zealand and Broadway, in the Cambridge University revue Cambridge Circus directed by Humphrey Barclay, alongside Graham...
- Matron - Patrick Murray - Dougan
- Herbert Norville - Toyne
- George Winter - Rhodes
- Alrick Riley - Angel
- Philip DaCosta - Jackson
- Peter Francis - Baldy
- Andrew Paul - Betts
- Sean Chapman - James
- Ozzie Stevens - Smith
- Ricky Wales - Chambers
- James Donnelly - Whittle
- Joe Fordham - Reg
- Ray Jewers - Gym Instructor
- Ian Liston - White
- James LombardFuzz (musician)James Robert Lombard, OBE , professionally known by his stage name Fuzz, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, actor, record producer and composer noted for being the frontman of the band Inferno....
- Jameson - Charles Rayford - Philpott
- John Rogan - Escort
- Perry Benson - Formby
Deviations from original BBC production
The film differs from the original BBC production in many respects. The film contains strong language as opposed to the milder BBC version. The violent scenes were far more graphic in the 1979 remake. Support cast members David ThrelfallDavid Threlfall
David Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...
and Martin Philips from the original are replaced with Mick Ford and Julian Firth in the film. The story was also changed. The BBC version features a homosexual relationship between Carlin and another inmate, which was dropped from the film. Minton later said that this was a pity as it would have expanded Carlin's character and made him vulnerable in an area where he could not afford to be vulnerable.
The television play version of the film also features less graphic rape and suicide scenes. An additional scene shows Davis trying to talk to Carlin about the incident. Carlin dismisses him when he refuses to talk in front of his 'missus' (partner). He then commits suicide. In the remake, the relationship between Carlin and his 'missus' doesn't feature. Instead, during the mess, Davis looks up at Carlin from the dining table as if about to confide in him, but Carlin unwittingly chooses that moment to get up and leave.
Also in the television play, it's made clear Banks is in hospital - resulting from the beating administered by Carlin when ousting him as the "daddy" - at the end of the film; in the theatrical version he is present at the end moment of silence.
Response
British morality campaigner Mary WhitehouseMary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
initially won her private prosecution in the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
case against Channel 4 for showing the film, the Independent Broadcasting Authority
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
had approved its transmission, but Channel 4 later won on appeal.
In 2010 an American film which was heavily based of the film Scum was made called Dog Pound
Dog Pound (film)
Dog Pound is a 2010 film directed by Kim Chapiron and co-written with Jeremie Delon. It is a French film which is highly influenced by the British borstal film Scum.-Plot:...
.
Home media releases
The film was first released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
video in the UK in 1983, where it was immediately caught up in the UK Video nasty
Video nasty
"Video nasty" was a colloquial term coined in the United Kingdom by 1982 which originally applied to a number of films distributed on video cassette that were criticized for their violent content by the press, commentators such as Mary Whitehouse and various religious organizations.While violence...
controversy of the early 1980s.
It was later released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the UK by Odyssey and Prism Leisure. It was the digitally remastered uncut version but in fullscreen, with only a trailer and an interview as bonus features. In the US an Alan Clarke boxset was issued that included several films, among them both the BBC original and cinema version of the film plus audio commentaries. Prism Leisure released a limited edition 2-disc set in the UK in 2005. Disc One featured the BBC version with an audio commentary and two interviews. Disc Two instead featured the theatrical remake with an audio commentary, several interviews and featurettes and two trailers. It was digitally remastered from a widescreen print. This special edition DVD was sold in amaray slipcase packaging and also in a limited edition tin case. A Region 0 DVD - very similar to that in the Alan Clarke boxset, but this time available separately from other Clarke films - followed in the US, released by Blue Underground.
External links
- Scum (TV drama) at the BFIBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's ScreenonlineScreenonlineScreenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews...