A recent re-viewing of this semi-autobiographical drama helmed by Albert Finney provided me with an opportunity to reassess a film I had long dismissed as a vehicle for kooky and generally annoying co-star Liza Minnelli. Thank goodness I gave it a second chance, as my memories of Liza with a Z's domination of the proceedings proved very wide of the mark indeed! Finney plays the titular Bubbles, a northern lad who's made good and relocated to the Big Smoke, where he lives in isolated glory and drives a gold Bentley with a vanity license plate. Charlie takes his secretary Lottie (Minnelli) oop north to revisit his old stomping grounds and spend some time with his son Jack (Timothy Garland). There are two pitch perfect scenes in the film: the first on the drive up the motorway, when Charlie and Lottie pick up a traveling serviceman (Alan Lake, beknighted husband of Diana Dors) on his way home on leave; and the second when Charlie tries to bond with Jack by taking him to a football match. Charlie's purchased seats in what we would now call a 'luxury box' and plies his son with popcorn, soda, and other treats, but the lad presses his nose against the window and would clearly prefer to be on the terraces with everyone else. The two exchange nary a word, but it's an incredibly powerful and moving scene. Thanks to Shelagh Delaney's screenplay, the film provides an honest, unvarnished look at the contrasts between northern and southern England--contrasts that persist in similar fashion to this day. If you can overlook Ms. Minnelli's relatively brief appearance, you'll find rich rewards herein.
Review of Charlie Bubbles
