THESE ARE THE DAMNED (THE DAMNED)

UK, 1962, 87 minutes, Black and white.
Mac Donald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, James Villiers.
Directed by Joseph Losey.

These are the Damned is one of Losey's "middle period” dramas, that is before being hailed as a great director after The Servant; King and Country; Accident. He attained full recognition with The Go- Between in 1971. These are the Damned is an effective science-fiction film. The credits are eerie, but the film spends some time in establishing its 1960's rock 'n roll, English coast town setting. The theme of nuclear destruction seems the more menacing when set in this contemporary context.

The film was criticised as being too prosaic and filled with cliche in its development of the plot between Simon and Joan. It is, but is justified in view of what happens in the later part of the film. All the issues of the bomb, world destruction and the heartlessness of science are raised and the film's ending leaves an audience with a sense of alarm. It is interesting to note that the film was released in 1962 at the height of the nuclear scares and pre-dated such frightening films as Failsafe; Seven Days in May; Panic in Year Zero and Dr. Strangelove. Losey himself is quoted as saying that the production executives did not like or understand the picture. However, it is interesting and thoughtful science-fiction.

1. Was this a good science-fiction film? Why? Was it plausible?

2. Comment on the effectiveness of the structure of the film - the credits, eerie sculptures and shapes, the cliffs, then the transition to Weymouth 61, the Pier culture, the bikies and the rock music.

3. The realism of Britain in 1960 was built up at some length. How did this help to make the experiment more believable when it was discovered?

4. "The person who knows all the answers is the happier and the more secure" - thus said the head of the project. How right was he? What kind of person was he?

5. Joan and Simon represented ordinary, casual people. How was this illustrated?

6. What was wrong with King?

7. How did King's pursuit of Simon and Joan add pace and excitement to the film?

8. What did you feel when the project was explained to you?

9. Did you share Simon and Joan's reaction to finding the children and wanting to help them escape?

10. Did the children act as children despite their imprisonment?

11. What was the effect of watching the escape and the brutality and fear of the recapturing with Freya?

12. How did you feel at King's death?

13. The world of Weymouth was ugly but is it preferable to the inhuman faith and experimentation of the project?

14. How did the end of the film move you - the couple drifting to death and the calls for help from the empty cliff-face and the sea, the distant view of Weymouth and the cries?

15. What future did the film offer? What hopes?

16. Do you feel that the film communicated its message effectively?

17. The impact of visual techniques for theme, e.g. the bashing of Simon, the restaurant conversation with the head and Freya, Simon's brutal kiss and apology, the placid isolation of the boat, King's breaking the sculpture, the boy's saving King's life, his coldness, Simon and Joan drifting to death, Freya's death from the moving helicopter.