The Leather Boys
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
Written by Gillian Freeman
1964/UK
Raymond Stross Productions
First viewing/YouTube
[box] “The lonely evenings in the life of a newly married girl may be really agonizing.” ― Girdhar Joshi[/box]
Not the biker film the poster would imply. It’s the coming-of-age story of both parties to a teenage marriage.
Dot (Rita Tushingham) and Reggie marry much too young and find their dreams of independence have no relation to reality. She, far more extraverted than he, wants them to spend all their time out on the town. She fails to meet his expectations for a (house)wife. The sex dries up rapidly.
Then Reggie’s grandfather dies, grandmother shouldn’t be left alone, and Dot refuses to move in with the old lady. So Reggie does, on his own. Soon he is spending all his time with a biker friend who becomes more and more possessive….
I could watch Rita Tushingham’s mobile and vulnerable face all day. The situation seems real and I enjoyed the film.
