The Rita Tushingham Home Page

Credits & Photos 1967 - 1969

Smashing Time (1967) [Film: UK] "Brenda"
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• Two young women from northern England, the conservative Brenda and the flamboyant Yvonne, arrive in swinging London to seek fame and fortune.
• In the Spring of 1967, Rita and her good friend Lynn Redgrave began filming this lighthearted spoof of Swinging London.  This film is regarded as something of a time capsule, capturing Swinging London at its peak in the Summer of 1967.
• Murray Melvin and Paul Danquah, Rita's co-stars from A Taste Of Honey, play two well-dressed layabouts in the Too Much boutique.
• At the end of the film, Rita and Lynn caper off in a northerly direction straight up the middle of Charlotte Street, a long, wide Soho street full of restaurants and delicatessens.  Rita says, "We made that at dawn, with men holding back all the traffic, but some car came right down the middle while we were dancing.  He must have thought we were midnight ravers.  Still, we're professionals, dearie, we got right back up again after he went over us and carried on."
• Smashing Time (1967), on DVD, with Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave, Michael York, Anna Quayle, Irene Handl, Ian Carmichael, Jeremy Lloyd, Toni Palmer, music by John Addison, Vic Smith, cinematography by Manny Wynn, written by George Melly, directed by Desmond Davis.
  • DVD Region 1, NTSC format (USA, Canada) - Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, more online sellers

Rita Tushingham, George Melly Rita attends a party at Gear in Carnaby Street in February 1967 to launch her new film Smashing Time.  Tush is accompanied by scriptwriter George Melly.

Rita Tushingham Rita tends to her flowers in April 1967, just prior to the commencement of filming of Smashing Time.

Rita and husband Terry Bicknell.

Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave Brenda and Yvonne, two naive lasses from the north of England, arrive in Swinging London.

Rita Tushingham The unsuspecting Brenda gets an unpleasant surprise when her suitcase is pulled out from under her by oblivious friend Yvonne.

Rita Tushingham "If you're bold, you'll spend your gold, As I do ... On new ... CLOTHES!" Brenda makes the scene, looking grand in her fashionably trendy new clothes – secondhand, of course!

Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham, Ian Carmichael Yvonne and Brenda try their luck as hostesses at the Furry Glen nightclub.  Yvonne sits with customer Bobby Mome-Rath at his invitation.

Rita Tushingham Brenda eavesdrops on Yvonne and Bobby from behind the sofa in his bachelor pad.

Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham Still wearing their nightclub-hostess clothes, Yvonne and Brenda drag themselves home at dawn...

Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham ...only to discover that they've been sacked.

Rita Tushingham Brenda inspects the mod merchandise at her new job at the Too Much boutique.

Rita Tushingham

Michael York, Rita Tushingham Tom and Brenda are caught in the middle of a pie fight, instigated by new waitress Yvonne, at Sweeney Todd's Pie Shoppe.

Rita Tushingham A pie heaved by Yvonne finds its mark!

Lynn Redgrave, Michael York, Rita Tushingham To film the pie fight, 3480 pies were thrown over the course of six days, containing about 1500 pounds of specially-prepared cream.

Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave, Peter Jones Brenda and Yvonne confront the TV host who has just demolished their flat as a prank for his game show, You Can't Help Laughing.

Rita Tushingham Once again, Brenda stumbles into the nearest body of water.

Peter Jones, Lynn Redgrave Yvonne wins the prize of £10,000 which she uses to begin a career as a pop singer.

Rita Tushingham Brenda begins a romantic relationship with photographer Tom, and stays with him on his houseboat.  Through the magic of the movie soundstage, the houseboat is much bigger on the inside than on the outside!

Rita Tushingham Brenda and Tom spend a Sunday outdoors, with Brenda modeling for Tom while he takes photographs of her.  One such setup casts Brenda as a silent-movie heroine tied to the railroad tracks.

Rita Tushingham, Manny Wynn, Michael York Brenda and Tom pause for lunch, with cinematographer Manny Wynn making a cameo appearance.

With Tom's help, Brenda becomes a successful model.

Rita Tushingham Brenda models for a TV commercial.

photo courtesy of Jonathan Biggs

Manny Wynn, Rita Tushingham Rita looks at some rushes with cinematographer Manny Wynn.

Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave During a visit to the set by co-producer Carlo Ponti, Rita and Lynn burst into an impromptu Italian opera version of Rule Britannia.

Rita Tushingham, Dodonna Bicknell, Lynn Redgrave Rita and Lynn take Dodonna for a stroll around the set.  The filmmakers wanted to accentuate the difference in height between Rita and Lynn, so they would often have Rita walk in the gutter without her shoes, while Lynn walked on the pavement in her high heels.

Rita Tushingham Rita tries to get the custard out of her hair following the morning's filming, 12 June 1967, on location in Hampstead.  "The custard went everywhere!  We were working in what was like a big warehouse, which had no hot water, so you couldn't get your hair washed and so you had to go home stinking of the stuff.  It was horrible.  I remember that night, we were going to go out for dinner – you should never do it when you're shooting – and we just had to go, stinking of this sweet-smelling stuff."

Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave Rita and Lynn pose for this behind-the-scenes photo.

Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave Rita and Lynn are seen here in the recording studio, supplying the vocals for Smashing Time's many songs.

Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave Rita says, "We'd never sung professionally, and Lynny and I were dumbstruck by the sight of this huge orchestra that had been assembled on our behalf.  We had to do the whole LP within a week, and worked very hard."

Rita Tushingham The music world may never recover!

Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave Rita and Lynn arrive for the UK premiere of Smashing Time at the newly-renovated Odeon Leicester Square Theatre in London on Wednesday, 27 December 1967, complete with a pop concert from Cliff Richard.  Rita wears the long blonde wig that would become her trademark look for several years thereafter.  Lynn attends despite being ill with the flu at the time.

Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham The new Laurel & Hardy?

Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham Lynn and Rita improvise a scene as jockeys in this composite image created from facing pages.

Our lovely lasses Rita and Lynn, mismatched in height but not in talent.

Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham Rita and Lynn improvise a scene in a roomful of theatrical props.

Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham Our Rita has never looked more beautiful than in this photo.

Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham Another scene with those lovely ladies of improv.

Diamonds For Breakfast (1968) [Film: UK] "Bridget Rafferty"
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• Grand Duke Nicolas Wladimirovitch Godunov is better known as Nicky.  He is fourth in succession to the Throne of all the Russians but, through necessity, owner of a Hampstead boutique.  He visits an exhibition of Russian Art, and there conceives a plan to restore the heavily-guarded Imperial Diamonds to their rightful owner – himself!  Inexperienced in the art of grand robbery but a past master in the art of love, Nicky recruits a team of seven beautiful girls to assist him.
• In late 1967, Rita began work on this film, a diamond-heist caper comedy co-starring French actor Marcello Mastroianni.  Rita plays lockpicking and safecracking expert Bridget Rafferty.
• Rita said, "There are long hours spent waiting to be called on the set, but I've just discovered knitting.  It's a marvellous way to relax.  I do heavy sweaters with big needles, and you have to concentrate so much that you have to switch your mind right off the part."
• Knitting would become a common thread (sorry) in many of Rita's later films.  Whenever Rita's character would be required to sit for an extended period of time, e.g., to watch television, her character would be seen knitting!  This occurs in Mysteries (1978), A Judgement In Stone (1986), The Legendary Life Of Ernest Hemingway (03 Jul 1987), The Boy From Mercury (1996), and Helen West: Shadow Play (13 May 2002), just to name a few.
• Diamonds For Breakfast (1968), with Marcello Mastroianni, Rita Tushingham, Elaine Taylor, Margaret Blye, Francesca Tu, The Karlin Triplets (Linda, Elaine, and Evelyn Wilson), Warren Mitchell, Leonard Rossiter, Bill Fraser, music by Norman Kay, cinematography by Gerry Turpin, written by Ernesto Gastaldi, Ronald Harwood, Pierre Rouve, N.F. Simpson, directed by Christopher Morahan.

Rita Tushingham, Marcello Mastroianni Our Rita poses with Marcello Mastroianni on Monday, 02 October 1967, at the start of production on Diamonds For Breakfast, Mastroianni's first English film.

Rita Tushingham Rita prepares for a scene in the museum.  Note the flag artwork on the back of her hand.

Rita Tushingham, Warren Mitchell Bridget gets the upper hand on museum security man Popov.

Rita Tushingham, Marcello Mastroianni Nicky relaxes with some of the members of his team.

Marcello Mastroianni, Rita Tushingham The Financial Times advises the "distribution of capital throughout the enterprise", which Nicky interprets to mean that none of his women can be neglected – he must sleep with ALL of them.

Youth Wave (1968) [Film: UK] "herself"
• A documentary that looks at the lives of actors and actresses during the making of The Strange Affair, Inadmissable Evidence, The Bliss Of Mrs. Blossom, Up The Junction, and Diamonds For Breakfast.
• Youth Wave (1968), with Margaret Blye, James Booth, Peter Collinson, Liz Fraser, Susan George, David Greene, Suzy Kendall, Shirley MacLaine, Marcello Mastroianni, Joe McGrath, Christopher Morahan, Anthony Page, Adrienne Posta, Rita Tushingham, Dennis Waterman, Nicol Williamson, Michael York, cinematography by Peter Jessop, John McCallum, Brian Grainger, directed by Paul Joyce.

The Guru (1968) [Film: USA/India] "Jenny"
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• Sixties pop star Tom Pickle journeys to India to learn the secrets of playing the sitar from Ustad Zafar Khan (Uptal Dutt).  Much to the dismay of his aggressive agent (Barry Foster), he leaves the money-making music world behind to learn about the exotic Indian instrument.  Khan believes Tom lacks focus but has the talent, and a young hippie girl arrives (Rita Tushingham) who has the focus but not the natural talent that Tom possesses.  There is a romantic angle between Jenny and Tom, but it is more implied than demonstrated.  Khan becomes frustrated over the lack of spiritual commitment of his students, as the rocker contemplates his return to swinging London.
• In 1968, Rita and her family traveled to India to begin filming this Merchant-Ivory production, co-starring Michael York.  Rita plays hippie girl Jenny, who, while traveling in India, decides that she wants to learn to play the sitar, a guitar-like Indian string instrument, from master sitar musician Ustal Zafar Khan (Indian actor Utpal Dutt).  Trendy British pop musician Tom Pickle (Michael York) is also studying the sitar under Khan's tutelage, a situation mirroring The Beatles' trip to India at that time.
• Rita says, "I was specially attracted to the idea of going to India on location.  It was my first visit, and I loved it, although it takes a few weeks to adjust oneself to the pace of the country and to the people.  They are most friendly, and I'm looking forward to going back sometime."
• The Guru (1968), with Rita Tushingham, Michael York, Utpal Dutt, Madhur Jaffrey, Barry Foster, Aparna Sen, Saeed Jaffrey, Nadira, Leela Naidu, music by Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Imrat Khan, Mark London, cinematography by Subrata Mitra, written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, James Ivory, directed by James Ivory.

A group of hippies listens to sitar music played by Ustal Zafar Khan.

Madhur Jaffrey, Rita Tushingham Khan's wife Begum Sahiba looks on as hippie girl Jenny asks Khan to teach her to play the sitar.

Utpal Dutt, Rita Tushingham At a party for Tom Pickle, Khan sits alone rather than participate in decadent music and dancing.  Jenny keeps him company.

Michael York, Utpal Dutt, Rita Tushingham Tom Pickle and a group of his admirers join Ustal Zafar Khan and Jenny.

Utpal Dutt, Michael York, Rita Tushingham Khan goes on a charity walk, accompanied by Tom and Jenny.

Rita Tushingham Jenny daydreams about becoming a bride...

Utpal Dutt, Rita Tushingham ...and marrying her guru (Khan).

Rita Tushingham, Michael York, Utpal Dutt Jenny, Tom, and their guru travel to Banaras (previously known as Benaras, during British rule), a Hindu holy city located on the banks of the river Ganges.

Aparna Sen, Michael York, Rita Tushingham Tom and Jenny take a boat ride on the river Ganges with their guru's younger wife, Ghazala.  Rita looks preoccupied.

Rita Tushingham On the boat ride, Jenny tells Tom about her travels.

Rita Tushingham Rita poses with a tanpura, an instrument used to accompany a sitar with a drone note.

Rita Tushingham Jenny is upset by an astrologer who comes at the behest of Khan's older wife, Begum Sahiba.

Utpal Dutt After Tom and Jenny leave to return to England, Khan goes for a walk on the beach.

George Harrison, Rita Tushingham, Michael York An Indian music lesson from George Harrison in January 1968.

Rita and film producer Ismail Merchant.

Michael York, Rita Tushingham Michael and Rita relax on the beach.

Rita Tushingham Rita makes some new friends on the beach during a break in filming.

Rita Tushingham, Michael York Rita and Michael dance at a party.

Rita and Michael clown with a pair of oversized trousers, each attempting to fit inside one leg.

Rita Tushingham, Michael York

photo courtesy of Dave Poole In late 1968, Rita purchased a honey-colored 1969 Reliant Scimitar GTE-SE5 for husband Terry, even though Rita herself does not drive.

The Bed Sitting Room (1969) [Film: UK] "Penelope"
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• View a TCM article for this item
• The specter of atomic warfare raises its head once again in this bizarre absurdist comedy, directed by Richard Lester and hatched from the mind of twisted British comic Spike Milligan.  England lies in ruins after a World War III nuclear holocaust, and a number of dazed survivors try to carry on as if nothing is wrong, even when one woman (Rita Tushingham) announces that she is seventeen months pregnant, and others begin to mutate into parrots, wardrobes, and bed-sitting rooms.
• The often slapstick comedy provides a surreal foreground for the bleak, devastated settings, portions of which were filmed in actual, environmentally blasted industrial areas in Wales.
• The comedy duo of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore appear as hapless government officials.  Marty Feldman's screen debut.
• Rita says, "Richard Lester knows exactly what he wants, and he doesn't let you go over the top.  I remember Richard Warwick saying, 'I don't know what he wants' and I said 'Trust him, it'll be fine' – because he knows exactly how it's going to cut together, and you can trust him completely.  With Richard, you feel you're in tremendously good hands."
• The Bed Sitting Room (1969), on DVD, with Rita Tushingham, Ralph Richardson, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Spike Milligan, Michael Hordern, Richard Warwick, Arthur Lowe, Mona Washbourne, Dandy Nichols, Frank Thornton, Marty Feldman, music by Ken Thorne, cinematography by David Watkin, written by John Antrobus, Spike Milligan, Charles Wood, directed by Richard Lester.
  • DVD Region 2, PAL format (Europe) - Amazon UK, more online sellers

Richard Warwick, Rita Tushingham Allan and girlfriend Penelope, who is 17 months pregnant (!), struggle to survive in the ruins.

Rita Tushingham, Mona Washbourne Penelope and her mother.

Dudley Moore, Peter Cook The police are constantly hovering around, telling everyone to "Keep moving!"

Rita Tushingham, Richard Lester "The Bed Sitting Room" had its world premiere at the 19th annual Berlin Film Festival, 25 Jun - 06 Jul 1969.  Here are Rita and director Richard Lester at the "Piratedrink" on the roof garden of the Hilton Hotel in Berlin, 05 Jul 1969.

The Giveaway (1969) [Stage: UK] "Daisy Wink", "Daisy's son"
• Rita appeared in this theatrical production written by her friend, playwright Ann Jellicoe, who had written The Knack.  Rita plays a dual role as the girl next door and, in disguise, as her nonexistent 14-year-old son, a deception made necessary by the fact that the boy is to be televised as the winner of a giveaway prize – a ten-year supply of Cadbury Flakes breakfast cereal.
• Also during 1969, Rita began taking singing lessons for a stage musical to be called Amy in which she was to play Amy Johnson, the pioneer airwoman of the early thirties.  Rita says, "The production never went ahead, and I must say I did have reservations about being part of it, not being a trained singer I thought it would be difficult to do eight shows a week."
• The Giveaway (1969), with John Barrard, Rita Tushingham, Dandy Nichols, Gawn Grainger, Roy Hudd, Margaret Nolan, Frank Abbott, Philip Woods, Michael Harvey, Stewart Preston, Jane Bolton, written by Ann Jellicoe, directed by Richard Eyre.
  • 08 Apr 1969 - end_date?, Garrick Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0HH

Rita Tushingham, Dandy Nichols Our Rita in disguise.

The Movies (09 Jun 1969) [TV: UK] "herself"
• Michael Aspel interviews actress Rita Tushingham, while walking through a garden.  Rita talks about the filming in India of her film The Guru; about her new film The Bed Sitting Room; about Richard Lester, director of The Knack; about why she has had no great successes since the Cannes Best Actress Award for A Taste Of Honey; and about watching her own films on television and seeing rushes during shooting.
• The Movies (09 Jun 1969), with Rita Tushingham, Michael Aspel.

New Horizons (06 Oct 1969) episode 1.03 "Hero, 3: The Stars" [TV: UK] "herself"
• Contains a sequence from Smashing Time, showing Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave seated in agent's office, afterwards Lynn Redgrave sings at a recording session.  Excerpt from BBC film Man Alive: Can She Sing? Does It Matter?  Judith Powell is trained to be a pop singer, signs contract, at publicity meeting, in dress shop with publicists and promoters, singing in a recording studio.  Footballer George Best signing autographs, driving car, scoring goal at football match, embraced by players.  The Beatles, showing hysterical fans at London Airport, police controlling crowd of girls.
• New Horizons (06 Oct 1969) episode 1.03, Hero, 3: The Stars, with George Best, Simon Dupree, Judith Powell, Lynn Redgrave, Rita Tushingham.

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