The Boy Friend

A low-budget musical revue is playing to an empty provincial house. When the leading lady sprains her ankle, the assistant stage manager, Polly, has to go on in her place. A famous Hollywood director happens to be in the audience that evening, and everyone on stage starts imagining he will pick them. The film stages those daydreams as full production numbers: the scene on screen opens out into what the performer is seeing in their head. Ken Russell adapted Sandy Wilson's stage show, itself a pastiche of 1920s musicals, and turns it into a tribute to the Busby Berkeley era: geometric choreography, overhead shots, extravagant design. What results works on two levels at once, both a musical and a commentary on musicals. Twiggy, known as a model, steps into film as Polly and carries it. Christopher Gable is her partner and Max Adrian the company manager. Who it's for: Viewers who like films that reference classic musicals, Russell's excess, and backstage stories. Who it's not for: It runs long and the fantasy numbers keep interrupting the narrative. Russell's excess is wearing for some viewers.