Hollywood England: The British Film Industry in the Sixties

Hollywood England is a study of an era as much as of the cinema, with the screen often reflecting the mood of the “Swinging Sixties.” Alexander Walker reveals how, for the first time, British cinema achieved a truly national character, with films like Billy Liar, the Beatles’ musicals, and the James Bond pictures; directors like Ken Loach and Ken Russell; and stars like Michael Caine and Julie Christie. Yet despite a wealth of exciting new films and talent, by the end of the decade, Hollywood sustained 95 percent of British filmmaking. In tracing these developments—from the sober reality of post-Suez Britain to its consumer boom and new permissiveness—Walker offers sharp appraisals of this pivotal era in British cinema.