Smashing Time

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Cast

Rita Tushingham
as Brenda

Lynn Redgrave
as Yvonne

Michael York
as Tom Wabe

Anna Quayle
as Charlotte Brilling

Irene Handl
as Mrs. Gimble

Ian Carmichael
as Bobbi Mome-Rath

Toni Palmer
as Toni

Jeremy Lloyd
as Jeremy Tove

Arthur Mullard
as Cafe Boss

Sydney Bromley
as Tramp

Murray Melvin
as 1st Exquisite

Paul Danquah
as 2nd Exquisite

Valerie Leon
as Tove's Secretary

Jerold Wells
as Man in Cafe No. 6

Bart Allison

Kate Binchy

Yuri Borienko

Veronica Carlson

Golda Casimir

John Clive
as Sweenie Todd Manager

George A. Cooper
as Irishman

Julian Curry

Amy Dalby
as Demolished Old Lady

Desmond Davis

Tom Gill

Danny Green

Geoffrey Hughes

Peter Jones
as Dominic

Brenda Kempner

Sam Kydd

Bruce Lacey
as Clive Sword

David Lodge
as The Caretaker

Arthur Lovegrove

Howard Marion-Crawford
as Hall Porter

Vanessa Redgrave

Cardew Robinson
as Custard-Pie Vicar

Stuart Saunders

Frank Sieman

Will Stampe

Ronnie Stevens
as 1st Waiter

Michael Ward

Gabor Baraker

Bernard Stone

Susan Whitman

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Critic Reviews for Smashing Time

Audience Reviews for Smashing Time

• Mar 17, 2008

  Ok, this is very silly and wacky yet I found myself really liking it! This is a great satire on Swinging 60s London. Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham play two girls from the North of England determined to make it big in swinging London. What follows is a series of crazy situations as the unlikely pair do find fame only to realize it's not really worth it. This film is so kitsch, with songs to match ("I can't sing but I'm young!"). If you love 60s style then your bound to like this, but this is not one to be taken seriously and overall is just a fun piece of nostalgia.
  Emily B Super Reviewer
• Mar 17, 2008

  "Smashing Time" is a mediocre movie, but it's lots of fun. Not exactly subtle, this British comedy is full of broad, farcical performances and actually has two -- two! -- major food-fight scenes. Is that a first? Yvonne (Lynn Redgrave) and Brenda (Rita Tushingham) have a ball as two daft birds visiting the big city, determined to become all the rage with the swinging Carnaby Street crowd. Yvonne is loud and ditzy, while Brenda is mousy and vulnerable. They flip through a few menial jobs, making a spectacular mess of whatever situation they enter, while also tangling with a cheeky tabloid photographer (the young Michael York). Eventually they stumble into show business via unlikely paths, which motivates one hilarious recording-session scene where every gimmick of the day (sitar, harp, girlie backup vocals) is awkwardly thrown into the mix. The other standout set pieces are a trendy art-gallery opening (booby-trapped robots are sold to people who want to feel nuclear paranoia at home) and a misfired bedroom seduction where a sleazy bounder (Ian Carmichael) puts the moves on Yvonne (too bad that a laxative joke doesn't pay off like it should). Slapstick humor is everywhere (the laundry bills must have been incredible), and the actors exaggerate every gesture, expression and regional accent. The psychedelic band Tomorrow (featuring a pre-Yes Steve Howe) has a small, non-musical role, and the score also includes several sweet songs that Redgrave and Tushingham warble themselves. This is definitely a period piece, but don't expect too much and you'll enjoy some silly laughs.
  

  Eric B Super Reviewer

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