Cathy Come Home
Encyclopedia
Cathy Come Home is a 1966 BBC
television play
by Jeremy Sandford
, produced by Tony Garnett
and directed by Ken Loach
, about homelessness. An industry poll rated it as the best British television drama ever made. Filmed in a gritty, realistic
drama documentary
style, it was first broadcast on 16 November 1966 on BBC1
. The play was shown in the BBC's The Wednesday Play
anthology strand, which was well known for tackling social issues.
) and Reg (Ray Brooks). Initially their relationship flourishes and they have a child and move into a modern home. When Reg is injured and loses his job, they are evicted by bailiffs, and they face a life of poverty and unemployment
, illegally squatting
in empty houses and staying in shelters. Finally, Cathy has her children taken away by social services.
, unemployment
, and the rights of mothers to keep their own children. It was watched by 12 million people — a quarter of the British population at the time — on its first broadcast. Its hard-hitting subject matter and highly realistic documentary style, new to British television, created a huge impact on its audience.
One commentator called it "an ice-pick in the brain of all who saw it". The play produced a storm of phone calls to the BBC, and discussion in Parliament. For years afterwards, the actress who played Cathy was stopped in the street by people pressing money into her hand, convinced she must be actually homeless.
In a 2000 poll of industry professionals conducted by the British Film Institute
to determine the BFI TV 100 of the 20th century, Cathy Come Home was voted second, the highest-placed drama on the list, behind the comedy Fawlty Towers
.
was launched a few days after the first broadcast. Though it was not connected to the programme, "the film (sic) alerted the public, the media, and the government to the scale of the housing crisis, and Shelter gained many new supporters."
However, Ken Loach has said that despite the public outcry following the play, it had little practical effect in reducing homelessness, other than changing rules so that homeless fathers could stay with their wives & children in hostels.
, produced by Tony Garnett
and directed by Ken Loach
, who went on to become a major figure in British film. Loach employed a realistic documentary style, using predominantly 16mm film on location, which contrasted with the vast amount of BBC drama
of the time, which was commonly made in the electronic television studio. Union regulations of the time though forced about ten minutes of Cathy Come Home to be shot in this way, with the material shot on electronic cameras being telerecorded, and spliced into the film as required.
The Cinematographer was Tony Imi. Imi's innovative use of a hand-held camera to take moving action shots and close ups gave "Cathy" almost a current affairs feel and a reality which was rare in British TV drama at the time. This produced shots some traditionalists thought "not technically acceptable". Imi commented: "I was stuck in a rut after working on Dr Finlay's Casebook
and Maigret
– standard BBC productions. All of a sudden, with The Wednesday Play and Ken, there was a newness that fitted into the way I was thinking at the time." Tony Imi died on 8th March, 2010.
Loach's realistic style helped to heighten the play's impact. Many scenes were improvised, and some include unknowing members of the public, such as the final scene in which Cathy's children are taken from her in a railway station (none of the passers-by intervened).
), as part of a series highlighting the issue of homelessness. It was also shown at the British Film Institute
in a 2011 Ken Loach film festival. Along with other Loach films, it is currently available to watch on Loach's YouTube channel.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television play
Television play
From the 1950s until the early 1980s, the television play was a popular television programming genre in the United Kingdom, with a shorter span in the United States. The genre was often associated with the social realist-influenced British drama style known as "kitchen sink realism", which depicted...
by Jeremy Sandford
Jeremy Sandford
Jeremy Sandford was an English television screenwriter who came to prominence in 1966 with Cathy Come Home, his controversial entry in BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand which was directed by Ken Loach...
, produced by Tony Garnett
Tony Garnett
Tony Garnett is a film producer who has worked in feature films and on British television. He was born in Birmingham, England, and studied psychology at the University of London....
and directed by Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
, about homelessness. An industry poll rated it as the best British television drama ever made. Filmed in a gritty, realistic
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
drama documentary
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
style, it was first broadcast on 16 November 1966 on BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. The play was shown in the BBC's The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
anthology strand, which was well known for tackling social issues.
Plot summary
The play tells the story of a young couple, Cathy (played by Carol WhiteCarol White
Carol White was a British actress.She achieved notability for her performances in the television play Cathy Come Home and the films Poor Cow and I'll Never Forget What's'isname , but alcoholism and drug abuse damaged her career, and from the early 1970s she worked infrequently.-Life and...
) and Reg (Ray Brooks). Initially their relationship flourishes and they have a child and move into a modern home. When Reg is injured and loses his job, they are evicted by bailiffs, and they face a life of poverty and unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, illegally squatting
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
in empty houses and staying in shelters. Finally, Cathy has her children taken away by social services.
Reception
The play broached issues that were not then widely discussed in the popular media, such as homelessnessHomelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
, unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, and the rights of mothers to keep their own children. It was watched by 12 million people — a quarter of the British population at the time — on its first broadcast. Its hard-hitting subject matter and highly realistic documentary style, new to British television, created a huge impact on its audience.
One commentator called it "an ice-pick in the brain of all who saw it". The play produced a storm of phone calls to the BBC, and discussion in Parliament. For years afterwards, the actress who played Cathy was stopped in the street by people pressing money into her hand, convinced she must be actually homeless.
In a 2000 poll of industry professionals conducted by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
to determine the BFI TV 100 of the 20th century, Cathy Come Home was voted second, the highest-placed drama on the list, behind the comedy Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
.
Impact
By coincidence, the charity for the homeless ShelterShelter (charity)
Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...
was launched a few days after the first broadcast. Though it was not connected to the programme, "the film (sic) alerted the public, the media, and the government to the scale of the housing crisis, and Shelter gained many new supporters."
However, Ken Loach has said that despite the public outcry following the play, it had little practical effect in reducing homelessness, other than changing rules so that homeless fathers could stay with their wives & children in hostels.
Production
The play was written by Jeremy SandfordJeremy Sandford
Jeremy Sandford was an English television screenwriter who came to prominence in 1966 with Cathy Come Home, his controversial entry in BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand which was directed by Ken Loach...
, produced by Tony Garnett
Tony Garnett
Tony Garnett is a film producer who has worked in feature films and on British television. He was born in Birmingham, England, and studied psychology at the University of London....
and directed by Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
, who went on to become a major figure in British film. Loach employed a realistic documentary style, using predominantly 16mm film on location, which contrasted with the vast amount of BBC drama
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom...
of the time, which was commonly made in the electronic television studio. Union regulations of the time though forced about ten minutes of Cathy Come Home to be shot in this way, with the material shot on electronic cameras being telerecorded, and spliced into the film as required.
The Cinematographer was Tony Imi. Imi's innovative use of a hand-held camera to take moving action shots and close ups gave "Cathy" almost a current affairs feel and a reality which was rare in British TV drama at the time. This produced shots some traditionalists thought "not technically acceptable". Imi commented: "I was stuck in a rut after working on Dr Finlay's Casebook
Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV & radio)
Dr. Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella entitled Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s...
and Maigret
Maigret (1960 TV series)
Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963.Based on the Maigret stories of Georges Simenon, the series starred Rupert Davies as the Sûreté detective Commissaire Jules Maigret, and featured Ewen Solon as Lucas, Helen Shingler as Madame...
– standard BBC productions. All of a sudden, with The Wednesday Play and Ken, there was a newness that fitted into the way I was thinking at the time." Tony Imi died on 8th March, 2010.
Loach's realistic style helped to heighten the play's impact. Many scenes were improvised, and some include unknowing members of the public, such as the final scene in which Cathy's children are taken from her in a railway station (none of the passers-by intervened).
Availability
In 2003, the play was released on VHS and DVD by the BFI as part of their Archive Television range, but is now out of print. In 2006 it was re-shown for the first time in many years (on BBC FourBBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
), as part of a series highlighting the issue of homelessness. It was also shown at the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
in a 2011 Ken Loach film festival. Along with other Loach films, it is currently available to watch on Loach's YouTube channel.
External links
- Cathy Come Home at the Museum of Broadcast CommunicationsMuseum of Broadcast CommunicationsThe Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...