Scum (1979)
Scum (1979)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Scum is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Kino Now, Kanopy
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Ray Winstone
Carlin
Mick Ford
Archer
Julian Firth
Davis
John Blundell
Banks
John Judd
Mr. Sands
Phil Daniels
Richards
Philip Jackson
Mr Greaves
Ray Burdis
Eckersley
Peter Howell
Governor
Bill Dean
Mr Duke
Patrick Murray
Dougan
John Grillo
Mr Goodyear
Herbert Norville
Toyne
P.H. Moriarty
Mr. Hunt
George Winter
Rhodes
Alan Clarke
Director
Alan Igbon
Meakin
Roy Minton
Writer
Davina Belling
Producer
John Fowler
Woods
Clive Parsons
Producer
Jo Kendall
Matron
Phil Meheux
Cinematographer
Alrick Riley
Angel
Sean Chapman
James
Michael Bradsell
Editor
Esta Charkham
CastingDirector
Andrew Paul
Betts
Mike Porter
ProductionDesigner
Ray Jewers
PE Teacher
Nigel Humphreys
Taylor
Perry Benson
Formby
Danny John-Jules
Baldy's lookout (uncredited)
Peter Francis
Baldy
Michael Relph
Executive Producer
Don Boyd
Executive Producer
Monica Howe
Wardrobe Master
Judith Lang
Assistant Art Director
Terry Poulton
Sound Editor
Debbie Scragg
Makeup Artist
Tony Message
Sound Effects Editor
David John
Sound Mixer
Media.
Details.
Release DateSeptember 12, 1979
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 38m
Content RatingR
Budget$420,000
Genres
Wiki.
Scum is a 1979 British drama film directed by Alan Clarke and starring Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth and John Blundell. The film portrays the brutality of life inside a British borstal. The script was originally filmed as a television play for the BBC's Play for Today series in 1977. However, due to the violence depicted, it was withdrawn from broadcast. Two years later, director Alan Clarke and scriptwriter Roy Minton remade it as a film, first shown on Channel 4 in 1983. By this time the borstal system had been reformed. The original TV version was eventually allowed to be aired eight years later in 1991.
The film tells the story of a young offender named Carlin as he arrives at the institution and his rise through violence and self-protection to the top of the inmates' pecking order, purely as a tool to survive. Beyond Carlin's individual storyline, the film also serves as an indictment of the borstal system's flaws, with no attempt at rehabilitation. The warders and convicts alike are brutalised by the system. The film's controversy arose over its graphic depiction of racism, extreme violence, rape, suicide, many fights and very strong language.