No Surrender (film)
Encyclopedia
No Surrender is a 1985
comedy film starring Michael Angelis
and Ray McAnally
.
The film is black comedy
about the Northern Ireland conflict, set in Liverpool on New Year's Eve. The plot focuses on the Irish Catholic and Protestant communities in the city, and the action is seen through the eyes of the manager of a ballroom (night-club for hire) in a rough working class area. The manager (Michael Angelis
) is of Greek origin (which leads to some disparaging jokes about 'kebab and chips') and new to the job. He finds out that the previous manager has left a lunatic legacy: before coming to a grisly end, he arranged an elaborate joke on his organized crime employers. He has hired out the same hall for New Year's Eve to several groups of senior citizens, including one hardline Irish Catholic Nationalists dressed in costume, one hardline Protestant Unionists and one of people suffering from mental retardation and senile dementia. As a coup de grace, he has also hired a skittish, incompetent magician, played by Elvis Costello
, to perform. Bernard Hill
plays the club doorman who is ex French Foreign Legion. 194 Radio City
DJ Pete Price
starred in this film as a comedian by the name of Frankie Diamond. The Catholics and Protestants recall their skirmishes and sing provocative songs to each other. The other main character is senior citizen Billy 'the Beast' McCracken, a former Loyalist boxer and brawler (with darker deeds also hinted at), played by Ray McAnally
. In the midst of all this arrives a Loyalist
terrorist on the run (Mark Mulholland).
As the night unfolds, the absurdity of these decrepit pensioners reliving their conflicts plays out against the background of inept entertainers, to great comical effect. More serious issues arise as the runaway terrorist threatens Billy the Beast's family. Despite its dark undercurrents and bleak setting, the film manages to be very funny and even life-affirming overall.
1985 in film
-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
comedy film starring Michael Angelis
Michael Angelis
Michael Angelis is an English actor and voice actor.Michael Angelis was one of the stars of the famous 1982 BBC drama serial Boys from the Black Stuff and another Alan Bleasedale drama G.B.H.. He also starred in comedies such as Luv and The Liver Birds, in which he appeared between series 5 and 9...
and Ray McAnally
Ray McAnally
Ray McAnally was an Irish actor famous for his performances in films such as The Mission, My Left Foot, and A Very British Coup.-Background:...
.
The film is black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
about the Northern Ireland conflict, set in Liverpool on New Year's Eve. The plot focuses on the Irish Catholic and Protestant communities in the city, and the action is seen through the eyes of the manager of a ballroom (night-club for hire) in a rough working class area. The manager (Michael Angelis
Michael Angelis
Michael Angelis is an English actor and voice actor.Michael Angelis was one of the stars of the famous 1982 BBC drama serial Boys from the Black Stuff and another Alan Bleasedale drama G.B.H.. He also starred in comedies such as Luv and The Liver Birds, in which he appeared between series 5 and 9...
) is of Greek origin (which leads to some disparaging jokes about 'kebab and chips') and new to the job. He finds out that the previous manager has left a lunatic legacy: before coming to a grisly end, he arranged an elaborate joke on his organized crime employers. He has hired out the same hall for New Year's Eve to several groups of senior citizens, including one hardline Irish Catholic Nationalists dressed in costume, one hardline Protestant Unionists and one of people suffering from mental retardation and senile dementia. As a coup de grace, he has also hired a skittish, incompetent magician, played by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, to perform. Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill is a British actor of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Yosser Hughes, the troubled 'hard man' whose life is falling apart in Alan Bleasdale's groundbreaking 1980s TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff...
plays the club doorman who is ex French Foreign Legion. 194 Radio City
Radio City 96.7
Radio City 96.7 is a British Independent Local Radio station, based in Liverpool, that serves Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales...
DJ Pete Price
Pete Price
Pete Price is a British media personality and radio presenter, based in Merseyside, England. He is best known for the Sunday night talk radio show Pete Price: Unzipped, broadcast across sister stations City Talk 105.9 and Radio City 96.7. The show is aired live from 10pm to 2am and follows an open...
starred in this film as a comedian by the name of Frankie Diamond. The Catholics and Protestants recall their skirmishes and sing provocative songs to each other. The other main character is senior citizen Billy 'the Beast' McCracken, a former Loyalist boxer and brawler (with darker deeds also hinted at), played by Ray McAnally
Ray McAnally
Ray McAnally was an Irish actor famous for his performances in films such as The Mission, My Left Foot, and A Very British Coup.-Background:...
. In the midst of all this arrives a Loyalist
Loyalist
In general, a loyalist is someone who maintains loyalty to an established government, political party, or sovereign, especially during war or revolutionary change. In modern English usage, the most common application is to loyalty to the British Crown....
terrorist on the run (Mark Mulholland).
As the night unfolds, the absurdity of these decrepit pensioners reliving their conflicts plays out against the background of inept entertainers, to great comical effect. More serious issues arise as the runaway terrorist threatens Billy the Beast's family. Despite its dark undercurrents and bleak setting, the film manages to be very funny and even life-affirming overall.