Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963)

Sparrows Can't Sing is a 1963 British film starring James Booth, Barbara Windsor, Roy Kinnear, George Sewell and Murray Melvin. Based on a 1960 play, Sparrers Can't Sing, it’s the only film by renowned theatre director Joan Littlewood. Cockney sailor Charlie (Booth) comes home from a long voyage to find that his wife Maggie (Windsor) has taken up with another man. The film was made on location in Limehouse, Isle of Dogs, Stepney and around the theatre in Stratford. The sets were occasionally visited by local residents The Krays, who also make a cameo appearance towards the end of the film. The dialogue is a mixture of Cockney rhyming slang, London Yiddish, and thieves' cant. As such, it was the first English language film to be released in the United States with subtitles. This screening is presented by Thomas Bowington and the London Film Convention. It precedes the event An Evening with Murray Melvin: An Illustrated Retrospective, starting at 19.30.