T. Dan Smith: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Utopia

T. Dan Smith: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Utopia

85 mins | Thriller, Documentary | Jan. 1, 1987

An experimental mix of thriller and documentary exploring the scandal centred on the one-time Newcastle Council Leader, aka The Mouth of the Tyne, who was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 1974 for corruption. A dynamic and visionary politician, Smith collaborated closely as Amber unpicked the story of a leftwing group of ex-war resisters who took control of the city council in 1960, the socialist and civic ambitions and the betrayals; the claims of MI5 involvement, of ministerial cover-ups and the unseen role of the Privy Council. With Smith appearing as himself and filmmakers Murray Martin and Steve Trafford as two journalists, the film interrogates the interviews and archive footage, weaving them together with a fictional scandal unfolding on the streets around them…

T. Dan Smith: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Utopia

85 mins | Thriller, Documentary | Jan. 1, 1987

T. Dan Smith: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Utopia
An experimental mix of thriller and documentary exploring the scandal centred on the one-time Newcastle Council Leader, aka The Mouth of the Tyne, who was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 1974 for corruption. A dynamic and visionary politician, Smith collaborated closely as Amber unpicked the story of a leftwing group of ex-war resisters who took control of the city council in 1960, the socialist and civic ambitions and the betrayals; the claims of MI5 involvement, of ministerial cover-ups and the unseen role of the Privy Council. With Smith appearing as himself and filmmakers Murray Martin and Steve Trafford as two journalists, the film interrogates the interviews and archive footage, weaving them together with a fictional scandal unfolding on the streets around them…
Producers
Original title T. Dan Smith: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Utopia
Directors
Writers

Cast

T. Dan Smith

as Self

Dennis Skinner

as Self

Murray Martin

as Self

Jack Johnson

as Self

Ken Skethaway

as Self

Dave Hill

as Jack Cross

Art Davies

as Councillor Alan Deal

Christopher Northey

as Jeremy Maudsley-Long

Steve Trafford

as Steve

Martin Murray

as Murray

Ralph Nossek

as Home Secretary

Harry Herring

as Councillor Albert

Cilla Mason

as Councillor Edith

Elizabeth Mansfield

as Newscaster

Amber Styles

as Cleaner

Kay Wight

as Alan Deal's Wife

Ray Stubbs

as Resident and Paper Seller