The Family Way
Encyclopedia
The Family Way is a 1966
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...

 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...

 comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

-drama
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...

 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 based on Bill Naughton
Bill Naughton
William John Francis Naughton, or Bill Naughton was an Irish-born British playwright and author, best known for his play Alfie.-Early life:...

's play All in Good Time (1963). It began life in 1961 as a television play entitled Honeymoon Postponed.
The film was produced and directed by John and Roy Boulting
John and Roy Boulting
John Edward Boulting and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting , known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for their popular series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:The twin brothers were born in Bray, Berkshire, England...

, respectively, and starred father and daughter John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...

 and Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...

. Naughton adapted the play himself.

Plot

Following the wedding of young Jenny Piper and Arthur Fitton (Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...

 and Hywel Bennett
Hywel Bennett
Hywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is best known for his recurring title role as James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley from 1979 to 1984 and its sequel The Return of Shelley from 1988 to 1992....

), a rowdy reception is held at a local pub where the newlyweds are subjected to much well-meaning but vulgar ribaldry. The couple returns to the Fitton home to spend their first night together before leaving for a honeymoon in Majorca, but they are followed by some of the wedding guests who keep the party going until early morning. Worse yet, when the youngsters finally are permitted to retire, their bed collapses as the result of a practical joke. The next day they discover that the travel agent who sold them their tickets to Majorca has absconded with the money, and they are stranded in rainy England. As days pass into weeks at the crowded Fitton home, the marriage remains unconsummated. The strain between the couple steadily worsens, with Arthur working nights as a cinema projectionist and Jenny spending her days behind a record counter. Not knowing where to turn, Arthur visits a marriage counsellor, but even this has a disastrous effect. The interview is overheard by a gossipy charwoman, and the young couple's unfulfilled marriage becomes a major topic of public gossip. Arthur becomes the butt of scornful jokes from his boss, Mr. Thompson, who volunteers to satisfy Jenny's marital needs. Enraged, Arthur strikes his boss and returns home to berate Jenny for disclosing their secret. As a result of the quarrel, their mutual inhibitions are dispelled, and they make love for the first time. The following day Arthur is encouraged by his mother to ask his father for financial assistance with the down payment on a house for him and Jenny. The money is gladly granted, and Jenny and Arthur leave for a belated honeymoon.

Cast

  • Hayley Mills
    Hayley Mills
    Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...

     as Jenny Piper Fitton
  • Hywel Bennett
    Hywel Bennett
    Hywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is best known for his recurring title role as James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley from 1979 to 1984 and its sequel The Return of Shelley from 1988 to 1992....

     as Arthur Fitton
  • John Mills
    John Mills
    Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...

     as Ezra Fitton
  • Marjorie Rhodes
    Marjorie Rhodes
    Marjorie Rhodes was a British actress.One of her best-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother of Bill Naughton's northern comedy All in Good Time. She played the role on Broadway, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965...

     as Lucy Fitton
  • Avril Angers
    Avril Angers
    Avril Florence Angers was an English stand up comedienne and actress.- Life :Angers was born in Liverpool. She danced with the Tiller Girls before joining ENSA during the Second World War, becoming a Forces' sweetheart. She never married or had children...

     as Liz Piper
  • John Comer
    John Comer
    John Comer was a British actor best known for his comedy roles in the television series I Didn't Know You Cared, Last of the Summer Wine and All Our Saturdays.-Early life:...

     as Leslie Piper
  • Barry Foster
    Barry Foster (actor)
    Barry Foster was a British actor who appeared in numerous film roles and is known for his leading role as a Dutch detective in the ITV drama series, Van der Valk, which spanned five series over 20 years from 1972....

     as Joe Thompson
  • Wilfred Pickles
    Wilfred Pickles
    Wilfred Pickles OBE was an English actor and radio presenter.Born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Pickles was a proud Yorkshireman, and having been selected by the BBC as an announcer for its North Regional radio service, went on to be an occasional newsreader on the BBC Home Service...

     as Uncle Fred
  • Liz Fraser
    Liz Fraser
    Liz Fraser is an English actress, mainly in comedy roles.- Life and career :Her birthdate is usually attributed as 1933, the year she gave when auditioning for her role in I'm All Right Jack, as the Boulting Brothers wanted someone younger for the part...

     as Molly Thompson
  • Diana Coupland
    Diana Coupland
    Betty Diana Coupland was an English actress best remembered for her role as Jean Abbott on Bless This House, which she played from 1971 to 1976.-Early life:...

     as Mrs. Rose
  • Colin Gordon
    Colin Gordon
    Colin Gordon was a British actor born in Ceylon .He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a production of “Toad of Toad Hall”. From 1936 to 1939 he was a director with the Fred Melville Repertory...

     as Mr. Hutton
  • Murray Head
    Murray Head
    Murray Seafield Saint-George Head is a British actor and singer, most recognised for his international hit songs "Superstar" and "One Night in Bangkok" and his album Say It Ain't So...

     as Geoffrey Fitton
  • Margaret Lacey
    Margaret Lacey
    Margaret Lacey was a Welsh actress.She appeared in over 30 films between 1957 and 1985 mostly playing a sweet old lady or motherly figure in minor roles...

     as Mrs. Harris
  • Harry Locke
    Harry Locke
    Harry Locke was a British character actor.He was born and died in London. He was a familiar face in three decades of British cinema, with appearances including Passport to Pimlico , Reach for the Sky , Carry On Nurse , The Devil-Ship Pirates and The Family Way .In 1969 he appeared in Randall...

     as Mr. Stubbs
  • Robin Parkinson as Mr. Phillips
  • Ruth Trouncer as Marriage Counsellor
  • Thorley Walters
    Thorley Walters
    Thorley Walters was an English character actor.He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO...

     as The Vicar

Production notes

The Family Way soundtrack
The Family Way (soundtrack)
The Family Way is a soundtrack recording composed by Paul McCartney, released in January 1967. The album is the soundtrack to a late 1966 film of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Hayley Mills...

 was scored by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

, who was still a Beatle at the time, and producer George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...

.

The premiere of the film was in London on 18 December 1966. The film was released on video on 24 February 1989.

In popular culture

The cover sleeve of Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
-Smiths original:The Smiths' song, written by the usual combination of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, came out on the group's 1987 album Strangeways, Here We Come....

, a single by English band The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

, features Murray Head
Murray Head
Murray Seafield Saint-George Head is a British actor and singer, most recognised for his international hit songs "Superstar" and "One Night in Bangkok" and his album Say It Ain't So...

 (as Arthur's brother Geoffrey) in a still from the film. Another Smiths' single I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in November 1987, reaching #23 in the UK Singles Chart....

is adorned by a still of Avril Angers from the same film.
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