Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

(Karel Reisz, UK 1960, 89 min., 16mm)

Albert Finney. Albert Finney burst onto cinema screens in 1960 with this portrait of a young British upstart. Arthur Seaton is a hardworking factory worker in Nottingham who nonetheless rails against authority and what he sees as his fellow workers’ compliance in their own misery. He finds solace in drinking contests and sexual trysts while trying to avoid complications, but when the consequences of his actions catch up with him, he has nowhere to turn. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Alan Stilltoe and equally a part of the “Brit New Wave,” the “Angry Young Man” cycle, and “Kitchen Sink” drama, this film established Finney as a young actor to watch.