With the recent release of Some People on DVD by Network, Anneke has recounted her favourite memories (or Annekedotes) on working on this 1962 film starring Kenneth More and directed by Clive Donner.
Pre-production
“Some People was commissioned for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme so we had a great team. The music by Ron Grainer and Nic Roeg on 2nd Unit! Clive Donner’s directing style of cinéma vérité really helps to give a flavour of authenticity.
We arrived in Bristol three weeks before we started shooting to rehearse and soak up the ambience; the boys to learn the accent and ride the bikes and all of us went to youth clubs, dance halls and factories to see what was happening.
Filming
We had a script but to give the performances an authentic feel the entire story was ad-libbed. A fantastic local group called The Eagles – with Valerie Mountain singing the haunting lyrics (which Angela Douglas mimed to in the film). How beautiful we all were. How young…and how innocent!
Kenneth More (I played his daughter, Anne, in the film) gave up his fee for the cause and we also had many actors on the verge of making it big such as David Hemmings, Ray Brooks and Angela Douglas. Harry H. Corbett gives such a poignant performance as Johnnie’s father. There was a lot of goodwill for the making of the film – which was how we were able to film the breaking of the sound barrier for the first time.
Filming the breaking of the sound barrier
The 1st unit – Kenny & Clive were at the Control Centre at Bilston Aerodrome – the ground staff were tickled pink to be “on screen” with Kenny More, who had recently played their hero Douglas Bader in “Reach for the Sky”.
The 2nd unit – Nic Roeg (and me) on a specially built platform on the runway – thrilling!
The 3rd unit were filming it disappearing into the distance – it was a BIG moment in aviation history!
Royal Premiere
I had a scene with Kenny where I’m in the bath shrinking my jeans. We had a Royal Premiere and The Duke of Edinburgh murmured to me “I liked you in the bath – does it really work?” “Yes, Your Highness” I replied, “You should try it some time!!”
The film was shown all over the world. In Spain the film was dubbed and my mother proudly announced to her Spanish community “That’s my daughter!”.
Some People is available now from Network. You can order a copy by Anneke from our online store.