In 1967, a young Roger Ebert drew up a top-ten-films-of-the-year list including Bonnie and Clyde, Blow-Up, The Graduate, A Man for All Seasons, and Cool Hand Luke. Later, he added a few more pictures from this cinematic bumper crop that he remembered fondly, the first of which was The Family Way. Though seldom referenced today, it was a big hit in Britain — one of several, in fact, for the twin-brother filmmakers John and Roy Boulting. Responsible for such nineteen-fifties comedies as Lucky Jim and I’m All Right Jack, the two attained in their homeland not only auteur status, but also the curious position of establishment satirists, validating the institutions of mid-century English life even as they ridiculed them.
Adapted from a stage play by Alfie author Bill Naughton, The Family Way finds its material in the trials of a pair of northern newlyweds who, having been fleeced by a crooked travel agent, end up having to spend their honeymoon at home. What’s worse, given their impecuniousness, “home” meant a room in the house of the groom’s parents.
That 1967 was a different time is also signaled by a scene in which the father-in-law bellows for his chamber pot, which his wife had hoped to keep hidden from her new daughter-in-law’s sensitive eyes. In that role is the acclaimed performer of English everyman John Mills, appearing onscreen for the first time with his daughter Hayley, who plays the bride. It marked her first real adult part, a kind of graduation from her child-actress career in pictures like The Parent Trap and That Darn Cat!
The picture also boasted a score by Paul McCartney, or at any rate by Beatles producer George Martin, who built upon what themes he could successfully importune the seemingly writer’s-blocked Beatle to bang out. Taking into account that this was happening between Revolver and Sgt. Pepper, it’s perhaps understandable that McCartney would feel his creative energies drained by other projects, but the Boulting brothers had offered a first, irresistible opportunity to compose officially outside the Lennon-McCartney dyad. Though not without the charms of Martin’s orchestral work (more of which would be heard in Yellow Submarine in 1969), The Family Way’s brief soundtrack bears few obvious marks of the McCartney musical sensibility. Present on the Beatles’ albums, of course, that sensibility has continued to develop throughout a solo career that has outlived the band by 56 years — and counting.
Related Content:
The Genius of Paul McCartney’s Bass Playing in 7 Isolated Tracks
Paul McCartney Explains How Bach Influenced “Blackbird”
Hear The Beatles’ Abbey Road with Only Paul McCartney’s Bass: You Won’t Believe How Good It Sounds
Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. He’s the author of the newsletter Books on Cities as well as the books 한국 요약 금지 (No Summarizing Korea) and Korean Newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter at @colinmarshall.
