Stars: Alan Bates, June Ritchie, Thora Hird, James Bolam

Director: John Schlesinger

Summary: Drama based on the novel by Stan Barstow which tells of a young draughtsman who is forced into marriage after making his girlfriend pregnant. Living with her dragon-like mother soon makes him realise that his marriage is just a fragile relationship based purely on sex.

This bittersweet drama details the lives of a young couple who are forced to marry due to a pregnancy. As they mature, they learn to love one another. Sensitive and well-acted.

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Pity poor Vic (Alan Bates): when he begins a relationship with Ingrid (June Ritchie), a typist at the Lancashire factory where he works as a draughtsman; his life comes apart at the seams. Ingrid's gossiping, malicious friends are bad enough, but her mother Mrs Rothwell (the terrifying Thora Hird) is something else. Vic has to marry Ingrid-she's pregnant--and the only place for them to stay is chez Rothwell.

There's a tenderness about A Kind of Lovingwhich you don't find in the more abrasive "kitchen sink" films of the 60s. Vic is not a rebel like Arthur Seton in Saturday Night, Sunday Morningor a macho lunk like Richard Harris' rugby-league player in This Sporting Life. He's a likable, easygoing youngster who soon discovers that real-life love affairs are infinitely messier than he and his mates could ever have imagined. The acute, witty screenplay, adapted by Willis Hall and Keith Waterhouse from Stan Barstow's novel, shows how limited Vic and Ingrid's choices really are. They have no privacy or independence. Bounced into a marriage that neither necessarily wants, their romance quickly sours. Mrs Rothwell is truly the mother-in-law from Hell--a busybody and a tyrant. Look out for the Queen Victoria-like expression on her face when a drunken Vic throws up in her front room. Debut-feature director John Schlesinger captures the humour and the pathos in the young lovers' plight without ever making fun of them. --Geoffrey Macnab

Aspect Ratio:	1.66 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Subtitles:	None
Year:	1962
Release Date:	June 25, 2001
Runtime:	112 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	M P 051 D
Label:	Vintage Collection
Keywords:	General, Loving, Kind, Wide, Screen, Drama
Genre:	Drama