That'll Be The Day

That'll Be the Day is a 1973 British film starring David Essex and Ringo Starr, written by Ray Connolly and directed by Claude Whatham. It is set in the late 50's/early '60s and partially filmed on the Isle of Wight. Abandoned by his father as a child, suburban school dropout Jim MacLaine (David Essex) leaves home and drifts through a succession of dead-end jobs until he finds an outlet for his frustration in rock 'n' roll. Tossing away the chanc... more

That'll Be the Day is a 1973 British film starring David Essex and Ringo Starr, written by Ray Connolly and directed by Claude Whatham. It is set in the late 50's/early '60s and partially filmed on the Isle of Wight. Abandoned by his father as a child, suburban school dropout Jim MacLaine (David Essex) leaves home and drifts through a succession of dead-end jobs until he finds an outlet for his frustration in rock 'n' roll. Tossing away the chance of a college education much to the consternation of his mother, alienated MacLaine becomes a lowly deckchair attendant before streetwise friend Mike (Ringo Starr) gets him a job with the fun fair. The initially shy MacLaine quickly becomes a heartless fairground romeo leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Eventually the prodigal son returns home to run the family store and marry his girlfriend, but despite the birth of a son, restless Jim feels the lure of rock’n’roll again. The film was praised at the time for its gritty realism.... less