British Beaches in the Movies: Brighton

Brighton Beach, in cinematic terms, is impossible to ignore and it difficult to select one film that best portrays this much-loved tourist destination with titles such as Quadrophenia (1979), Brighton Rock (both times) and London to Brighton (2006) in the running. In the film world, Brighton is generally seen as a place to visit – or getaway to – from London; a bolt hole. It also is steeped in a cinematic history which goes back to the era of silent movies. The film of choice, however, has to be Mona Lisa, a classic from 1986 which saw Bob Hoskins develop as an unlikely romantic hero. Working as the driver for a high-class prostitute named Simone (Cathy Tyson), he develops a deep and unprecedented friendship. Everything about this film works. Even, somewhat bizarrely the Phil Collins’ track “In Too Deep” as Hoskins mooches around Soho. And let’s not forget that amazing chase scene along the pier at Brighton, or those sunglasses. An undeniably bold film from the 1980s back catalogue.

British Beaches in the Movies: Holkham Bay

The world discovered one of the Britain’s best kept secrets when John Madden shot Shakespeare in Love (1998). Holkham Bay near Sandringham boasts a sheer vastness that made the final tracking shot of Paltrow truly magical. The film won numerous awards, as if we could ever forget after Paltrow’s acceptance ‘speech’, including a Best Supporting Actress award for Judi Dench in her droll and understated performance as Queen Elizabeth I, quite impressive considering she was only on screen for eight minutes.

British Beaches in the Movies: Worthing

“Betty Grable!!” The austere post-war world was brought to life by newcomer Emily Lloyd in Wish You Were Here (1987). In a 1950s seaside town, which was actually Worthing Promenade in West Sussex, flighty teenager Lynda cycles along the promenade flashing a smile – and more besides – to the passing boys. In her dreams she’s Betty Grable, in reality she sells chips from a van on the seafront. Fantasies are soon all but forgotten, however, as Lynda has a heavy price to pay when she gets involved with one of her father’s friends (the brilliant Tom Bell). The film was loosely based on the memoirs of Cynthia Payne.

British Beaches in the Movies: Dawden

What could pack more of an emotional punch than a 1970s movie with Michael Caine seeking revenge for his brother? Get Carter (1971) is a cult classic inspired by a real-life murder in the North East of England. Fitting then that the notorious final scene was filmed at Dawden Beach in County Durham, a few miles from Seaham. Unfortunately Get Carter was remade in 2000 with Sylvester Stallone playing Jack Carter. Dawden Beach did not make a return to the franchise but Michael Caine did put in a cameo. To be honest, the less said about the remake the better.

British Beaches in the Movies: Blackpool

Blackpool Beach is famous for many things: Blackpool Tower, ‘The Big One’, and hen parties to name but a few. Perhaps a more artistically admirable thing to remember Blackpool for, however, is the film Bhaji on the Beach (1993) in which three generations of Asian women take a day trip from Birmingham to Blackpool learning some home truths about themselves and their relationships along the way. Gurinder Chadha’s film won numerous international awards and served as springboard for her next film Bend it like Beckham (2002).

British Beaches in the Movies: Lyme Regis

The Dorset coastline had its time in the sun when The Cobb at Lyme Regis appeared in The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981). This picture starred Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep, big names for such a small, sleepy location, and was adapted from the John Fowles novel by Harold Pinter. The film interweaves two storylines: the book’s original story of Sarah Woodruff and Charles Smithson set in Victorian England and the story of the two actors who portray them in the 1980s. Fowles wrote two endings for the book— one happy, one not so happy. In a typically Pinter twist, he added the storyline of the actors in order to dramatise the unhappy ending.

British Beaches in the Movies: Redcar

Atonement (2007), much to the delight of northerners everywhere, was filmed, in part, at Redcar beach. Who would have thought that a shoreline of North East England could stand in so admirably for Dunkirk? Of course people familiar with the area were easily able to pick out recognisable features of the Redcar coast; local cinema The Regent makes a nice little cameo. In regional terms the shooting of this film was big news for the area and around 1,000 extras from the North East appeared in the film. The highpoint and emotional heart of this film was undoubtedly the stirring rendition of “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” which was played out in the bandstand.