Sunday, Bloody Sunday ***** (1971, Peter Finch, Glenda Jackson, Murray Head, Peggy Ashcroft) – Classic Movie Review 680

Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch won Bafta awards for Best Actress and Best Actor, and were Oscar nominated for their sensitive performances in John Schlesinger’s strongly felt, personal 1971 drama film Sunday, Bloody Sunday. 

Peter Finch gives a noble, sensitive performance as a well-to-do gay Jewish family doctor called Daniel Hirsch, a mature and intelligent man who shares his lover, a selfish young bisexual designer Bob Elkin (Murray Head), with brisk divorced London businesswoman Alex Greville (Glenda Jackson). Alex and Dr Hirsh know of the other’s existence but they prefer to live with the situation rather than risk losing Elkin completely.

In one of his best, most strongly felt, personal movies, gay movie director John Schlesinger’s direction is stylish and effectively understated. And this grown-up, mature story is beautifully written with lots of honest, heartfelt and revealing physical and emotional details by Penelope Gilliatt, once a well-known film critic for The Observer and The New Yorker.

Jackson’s performance is very nearly the equal of Finch’s. Both were Oscar nominated, as was the film and original screenplay, but there were no wins. Head is ideal as the boy in the middle of the maelstrom and Peggy Ashcroft scores as Jackson’s mother. In his film debut, the 14-year-old Daniel Day-Lewis appears as a young vandal.

Finch took over the star role at short notice from Ian Bannen, who left shortly after filming began. Allegedly, he was so nervous about what kissing another actor on screen might do to his career that he could not concentrate enough even to get going with the part. He later said that losing the role set back his career.

Finch had no such problems and turned the role into one of his finest performances, winning the 1972 Bafta award for Best Actor. Jackson won Bafta Best Actress, Schlesinger Best Direction and it was also Best Film. It also won the Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film.

Head is best known for his 1984 smash hit song One Night in Bangkok (his soundtrack performance from Chess, which he starred in on the London stage) and also had a top 40 hit with the single Superstar in the early 70s from the original Jesus Christ Superstar album singing the role of Judas.

It has been claimed that others were involved in the screenplay. Writers David Sherwin and Ken Levison are given a non-specific acknowledgment in the end credits of the film, and Sherwin has several times said that he did a full rewrite on the script. But Gilliatt always insisted she alone wrote it.

Glenda Jackson (9 May 1936 – 15 June 2023) one of the few to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, winning two Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. She was made CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1978. She won Best Actress Oscars for Women in Love (1970) and A Touch of Class (1973), and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress for Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971). Her other notable films include Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975), Hedda (1975), The Incredible Sarah (1976), House Calls (1978), Hopscotch (1980) and The Rainbow (1989).

Glenda Jackson was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, and her mother named her after the Hollywood film star Glenda Farrell.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 680

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