Those of you in the London area have an opportunity to see Rita in person.  In a
recent email, Rita mentioned that she would be attending a screening at the BFI:

"The BFI are going to release 'The Bed Sitting Room' on DVD late May or June, as
you know dates always change.  They are planning to have a screening of the film
on the 21st of May, they have invited me to attend and to do a Q&A after the
screening, they would love to have Richard Lester to attend - so would I - but
that is under dicussion, I will let you know if he agrees, fingers crossed.  He
has such a huge following and the audience would love to have the opportunity of
a Q&A with him.  I think the film is very relevant to today and was way ahead of
it's time.  - Love, Rita"

I looked for tickets on the BFI website, but have not yet found a listing for
this event.  Perhaps they'll list it in a couple of weeks.

Cheers,
Robert

Happy Birthday in advance to our lovely Rita, who shares a birthday with my
younger brother Sean!

Greg O.

--- In finallyaritatushinghamclub@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Dahl" <rjd0309@...>
wrote:
>
> Rita's birthday is coming up on 14 March (she'll be 67). It would be
> nice if our club sent her flowers again, as we did last year.
>
> Contributions towards the cost of the flowers would be greatly
> appreciated, and would make possible the purchase of a nicer floral
> bouquet. Please email me at rjd0309@... if you'd be willing to
> contribute.
>
> Kind regards,
> Robert
>

This is good news. I once had a really dodgy DVD or VHS copy of "The Bed Sitting
Room", completely unwatchable. I tossed it. Am looking forward to a nice clean
presentation.

But too bad about no extras on "A Place to Go", really no excuse for such
laziness these days. Subtitles would be a minimum effort, especially as it's
harder for us Yanks to pick up all the subtleties of the East End dialogue,
especially slang.

Greg O.

--- In finallyaritatushinghamclub@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Dahl" <rjd0309@...>
wrote:
>
> Good news!  Rita's 1969 film "The Bed Sitting Room" is ***finally*** being
released on DVD on 25 May 2009.
>
> The Region 2 release is from BFI Video, the same outfit that did such a fine
job releasing "A Taste Of Honey" in 2002 with audio commentary featuring Rita
and Dora Bryan.  No word yet on any commentary track or extra features for "Bed
Sitting Room".
>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001UL7SG2/
>
> I'd also like to give a thumbs-up to the new Region 2 DVD of "A Place To Go". 
Just received the DVD myself, and Odeon Entertainment has done a fine job
remastering this film.  My only disappointment is that there are no subtitles or
extras of any kind.
>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001F0PQYY/
>

Good news!  Rita's 1969 film "The Bed Sitting Room" is ***finally*** being
released on DVD on 25 May 2009.

The Region 2 release is from BFI Video, the same outfit that did such a fine job
releasing "A Taste Of Honey" in 2002 with audio commentary featuring Rita and
Dora Bryan.  No word yet on any commentary track or extra features for "Bed
Sitting Room".

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001UL7SG2/

I'd also like to give a thumbs-up to the new Region 2 DVD of "A Place To Go". 
Just received the DVD myself, and Odeon Entertainment has done a fine job
remastering this film.  My only disappointment is that there are no subtitles or
extras of any kind.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001F0PQYY/

I just received my copy of the new Schroeder Media Region 2 PAL DVD
release of Rita's 1966 film, "The Trap", released in Germany under
its German title, "Wie ein Schrei im Wind".  A friend in Holland sent
me a copy.

The Positives:

(1) The entire frame is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect
ratio.  Thus you can see all of the scenic background that was
present in the original film.

The Negatives:

(1) The picture is of poor quality.  It is fuzzy, lacks detail, the
color is under-saturated, and scenes are alternately too bright or
too dark (the film's dynamic range wasn't corrected for home video).

(2) There are two versions of the film on this disc:
(a) the widescreen version with German audio, and
(b) a standard TV fullscreen version with English audio.

This is a huge drawback, because it means that each film occupies 2
GB of space on the disc instead of the full 4 GB.  This means that a
great deal of sharpness and detail has been discarded in order to
squeeze the movie into such a small amount of disc space.

(3) The DVD transfer is not anamorphic.  It's just a 2.35:1 film laid
on top of a standard 4:3 TV rectangle.  If they had made it 16:9
anamorphic widescreen, they could have still given us the original
2.35:1 aspect ratio, but the letterboxing would have been less
significant when displayed on a widescreen TV set.

My opinion:

Sxhroeder Media really should have done a better job.  They should
have used a better print to begin with, then they should have made a
*single* video track in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen format.

Then, instead of including two different versions based on language,
they should have simply added two (selectable) audio tracks to their
master video -- one audio track in German, the other in English.  A
CHILD could add an audio track to an existing film!  The fact that
they chose not to perform this simple operation indicates that they
cut a lot of corners with this DVD release.

I would only recommend this DVD if you wish to see the original
2.35:1 picture, showing all of the original scenic backgrounds.  It
is definitely inferior to my existing PAL version in terms of color,
sharpness, and overall quality.  Its only virtue is that is gives us
the original frame.

This DVD is a huge disappointment.  I hope that this is not the end
for "The Trap".  It deserves to be restored and remastered by a DVD
company that cares about quality.

If anyone is interested in seeing this DVD in NTSC format (playable
in USA/Canada/Japan) send me an email, and I'll get a copy to you.

Cheers,
Robert

Rita's birthday is coming up on 14 March (she'll be 67). It would be
nice if our club sent her flowers again, as we did last year.

Contributions towards the cost of the flowers would be greatly
appreciated, and would make possible the purchase of a nicer floral
bouquet. Please email me at rjd0309@... if you'd be willing to
contribute.

Kind regards,
Robert

Fellow Tush fans:

Rita's film, "THE TRAP" (1966), was released on DVD in Germany on 22
January by Schroeder Media GmbH. A friend of mine who lives near the
German border in Holland is sending me a copy, which has not yet
arrived here in Phoenix. The Amazon_Germany website already lists a
couple of reviews by customers. I am concerned that one reviewer has
said that,

(1) the transfer is blurry and indistinct,
(2) there is a German soundtrack, but no original English soundtrack,
(3) it is not widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio.

Of course, I will have to wait until I receive my own copy before I
can confirm this, but I would advise anyone who is planning to buy
this DVD to delay their purchase until these allegations can be
confirmed or denied.

----------

Rita's film, "PUFFBALL" (2007), was scheduled to be released on 01
February, after having been delayed from last November. Rita plays an
old woman who uses witchcraft/voodoo to try to steal another woman's
baby. The film was shot in the area of Ireland's Rossmore Forest in
Spring of 2006.

----------

Rita's film, "A PLACE TO GO" (1963), is scheduled to be released on
16 February by Odeon Entertainment. I have seen a preliminary review
of this DVD, which is very positive and complimentary about the
quality of the transfer. I would encourage everyone to seek out a
copy of this film. I'll be making the conversion from PAL to NTSC
format, to make a DVD that can be played in the USA/Canada/Japan.

One minor complaint about Odeon's DVD is that their cover artwork
lists the cast in the WRONG order.  The cast is listed as:

Bernard Lee
Rita Tushingham
Michael Sarne
Doris Hare

According to the film's official billing, Rita's name should come
first, then Mike Sarne, then Bernard Lee. Odeon are notorious for
billing errors – their DVD of "A DATE WITH A DREAM" (1948) featured a
10-second silent performance by Norman Wisdom – his film debut – yet
he's listed as one of the main three stars on Odeon's DVD cover!

I mentioned this to Rita, and she replied,

"A PLACE TO GO", it seems such a long time ago, I did enjoy working
with Basil Dearden he had a reputation of being tough and instilled
fear into some of the crew, he was just a perfectionist. I know what
you mean about billing on DVDs, it is out of our control as they were
made so long ago, of course they are supposed to honour the billing
in the contract but often films are sold or owned by other companies
and it would be almost impossible to do anything about it, so it is
better not to waste the energy being upset."

----------

Rita also said that she is working on a short script that is being
written by an actor that she knows. She is also working on a short
that she wrote a while ago, which takes place in Liverpool during the
Forties and the Sixties. These scripts are intended to be directed by
Rita.  But money is not easy to raise in the current economic
climate, so getting these films made may be difficult. (You may
recall that Rita was supposed to direct a TV film called "VICTORY
GIRLS" – her directorial debut – in the late 1990s or early 2000s,
but this fell through.)

----------

I have DVD copies of two recent short films in which Rita appears.

The first film is called "SIGHT TEST" (2008), and is a 20-minute film
that was made by London Film School student Joseph Knowles as his
graduation film. He wrote a role for a "Rita Tushingham" type of
person, and had the audacity to ask Rita herself to appear in his
film. She agreed to work for him (for free) for one day. Joseph sent
me an early version on DVD, and has recently sent me the final
version with improved audio track.

The second film is called "COME HERE TODAY" (2008), and stars Rhys
Ifans and Rita. It is a twelve-minute film in black and white, by
filmmaker Simon Aboud. This film was recently telecast (and recorded
for me by a friend) on a new UK tv channel called "ShortsTV", which
specializes is broadcasting short films.

Let me know if you'd like me to send you a copy of either DVD.

Cheers,
Robert

The soundtrack of "SMASHING TIME" was originally released on vinyl LP
and has never been released on Audio CD.

I recently obtained the soundtrack audio files from a fellow Tush fan,
and have recorded them to Audio CD.

If anyone would like a copy of the Smashing Time soundtrack audio CD,
please drop me an email at rjd0309@..., and I'll mail you a copy.

Cheers,
Robert

Here is a link to a site with a little bit more information about the
forthcoming release of Rita's 1963 film "A PLACE TO GO".

http://www.odeonent.co.uk/product.asp?cid=&pid=2238

Rita has sent a Christmas message to our club:

"I wanted to wish everyone a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS and A HEALTHY HAPPY
NEW YEAR."

Very best wishes,

Rita Tushingham

Rita's 1966 film THE TRAP will be released in Germany on 22 Jan 2009,
under its German title WIE EIN SCHREI IM WIND ("Like A Cry In The
Wind").

Region: 2 (Europe)
Format: PAL
Released by: Schroeder Media GmbH
Release date: 22 Jan 2009
Label: White Goatee Films
Aspect ratio: 4:3 fullscreen (1.33:1)
Sound: German Dolby 1.0 Mono, English Dolby 1.0 Mono

Link to online retailer: SoundMedia DVD
http://www.soundmedia.ch/de/a/kho/103211341/wie-ein-schrei-im-wind-
cinema-classic-edition/the-trap

I would expect that Amazon UK and Amazon Germany, among others, will
list this title soon.  Right now, SoundMedia DVD is the only online
retailer that I could find that lists this DVD for sale.

I hope that the listed 4:3 aspect ratio is a mistake.  It would be
far better to get this great film in anamorphic widescreen 16:9
aspect ratio.  But we'll take what we can get!

The 50th anniversary of Rita's first professional appearance in showbiz
occurs on 23 Dec 2008.

On 23 Dec 1958, Rita appeared on stage at the Liverpool Playhouse in a
production of TOAD OF TOAD HALL. She was 16 years old at the time. Rita
played the roles of "Harold Rabbit" and "Alfred Horse (back legs)".

Toad Of Toad Hall (first performance 23 Dec 1958), at Liverpool
Playhouse (Williamson Square, Liverpool) by players of the Liverpool
Repertory Company: Delia Corrie, Brenda Kaye, George Pensotti, Trevor
Baxter, Michael Malnick, Frederick Farley, Rita Tushingham, Hilary
Crane, Trevor Danby, Caroline Blakiston, Elizabeth White, Merlith Sim,
David Harris, Michael Sheppard, Harvey Ashby, Wendy Rogerson, Ann
Curthoys, Petra Siniavski, Daphne Graham, Diana Waring, Linda North,
written by A.A. Milne, Kenneth Grahame, directed by Willard Stoker.

Great news!  Odeon Entertainment has announced that it plans to release
Rita's 1963 film "A PLACE TO GO" on 14 Feb 2009.  As most of you know,
this is a very rare and hard-to-find film.  I never thought that I'd
EVER see this film receive an official DVD release.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001F0PQYY/

http://www.find-dvd.co.uk/ODNF139.htm

The DVD will be Region 2 PAL format.  For those of you who cannot play
PAL format, I will convert the format to an NTSC-format DVD.

Just a quick update from Rita regarding her surgery:

"I will have the wisdom tooth extracted on Thursday [27th] of this
week, I delayed it because The Writers Guild have asked me to present
an award at BAFTA this evening [23rd] and I thought it would not look
too good if one side of my face was swollen  - not the best look!
Love, Rita"

I recently received an email update from Rita. I'd like to share some
of her remarks – leaving aside any personal messages – regarding some
upcoming events.

--------------
"BROKEN LINES is screening at The London Film Festival on Wednesday
22nd this week and on Monday the 27th. I have not seen it yet, as I
have told you I am always very nervous watching my work, I hope it
does not have the same effect on others."

"I am not going to be able to go to the Cairo Film Festival – I was
going to be part of the DVD Jury – I have to have an impacted wisdom
tooth removed on the 20th of November which needs to be done in
hospital so the trip is off and hopefully the tooth is out."

"I am still making notes for the book – I think it is really my
excuse for delaying it – Brighton will be a good place to work; I
have just arrived back from there now."

"Love, Rita"
--------------

Note: If any of our UK members are interested in attending the London
Film Festival, please visit their website for more information:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/

In particular, two of Rita's recent films will premiere at the LFF:
TELSTAR, http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/telstar
BROKEN LINES, http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/broken_lines

If you're able to attend the screenings of either of these films,
please post your comments and criticisms for the rest of the group!

Best regards,
Robert

Dora Bryan, Rita's co-star in "A Taste Of Honey" (1961), recently lost
her husband of 54 years, Bill Lawton.

Bill passed away on 14 Aug 2008 at the age of 88 at Springfields
nursing home in Hove.  He was cremated at a private service, at which a
tape was played of Dora singing the song "Bill", from the musical
Showboat.

News from Rita - September 2008

As I mentioned in a previous post, Rita has a small role as "Essex
Medium" in the new movie TELSTAR, which premieres on 25 October 2008
at The Times BFI London Film Festival.

Rita said, "Telstar is screening at the London Film Festival my role
is a tiny cameo - and I mean tiny - I did it because it was Nick
Moran's first film and we have worked together and kept in touch over
the years so it was a fun thing to do."

Rita's first film, A TASTE OF HONEY, was released on DVD in 2002 by
the British Film Institute (BFI). There is a new DVD of ATOH that is
scheduled to be released on 13 October 2008, from Optimum Home
Entertainment. Since Rita recorded an audio commentary for the BFI
DVD, I asked Rita if she had been asked to do a commentary for the
forthcoming Optimum DVD.

Rita said, "The BFI released a DVD of A TASTE OF HONEY and Dora and I
did a commentary on that, it was a few years ago though, Dora was in
great form she always enjoys a good chat. I heard that she is doing
very well in the nursing home and she and her husband Bill are being
well looked after."

As you can see, Rita didn't really answer my question regarding a new
commentary for the Optimum DVD. It doesn't appear that she has been
asked to do a commentary, though, because she would have given a more
direct answer to my question if she had been asked to participate in
the new DVD.

Regarding her autobiography, Rita said, "I have been making lots of
notes for the book when I think of certain incidences, when I have
enough I will attempt a few chapters, I hope!"

She also said, "I have been invited to the Cairo Film Festival in
November I will be a member of the Digital Jury which shows films
from new Producers and Directors, which is always interesting. I have
never been to Egypt so it should be an interesting experience. --
Love, Rita"

There is a new star-studded film about songwriter & producer Joe Meek,
called TELSTAR, in which Rita has a small role.

This film wiil premiere on 25 October 2008 in the UK.

Check out the following link for details:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/telstar

Sorry, wish I could help.  I have the film RACHEL'S MAN on dvd, but
have no additional info about the film or about Leonard Whiting.

Robert

--- In finallyaritatushinghamclub@yahoogroups.com, "alias0711"
<alias0711@...> wrote:
>
> I am writing to inquire as to whether members have any information or
> details re film, Rachel's Man, starring Rita Tushingham. I'm the owner
> of the LeonardWhitingFans Yahoo ! group and would like to know if you
> guys have more info on this film.
>
> alias0711
>

I am writing to inquire as to whether members have any information or
details re film, Rachel's Man, starring Rita Tushingham. I'm the owner
of the LeonardWhitingFans Yahoo ! group and would like to know if you
guys have more info on this film.

alias0711

Read an article about Rita in the Liverpool Daily Post.

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-
news/2008/08/15/actress-sticks-up-for-beloved-home-city-64375-21537614/

Read an interesting article about Rita in the online edition of the
Toronto Star.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/474279

always good to get rita news and her description of brighton makes me
long to go back there soon! my fave seaside resort!

Here's some news from Rita's latest email -

"PUFFBALL opened here and will go into other cinemas, I never read
reviews, I stopped many years ago as there is nothing I can do about
but people are always ready to quote them so I know they were mixed, I
am off to Liverpool to do a Q&A next week for PUFFBALL  at FACT  - of
which I am a patron - it is  a great centre for film and art and in my
home town so I am looking forward to it as it gives me a chance to see
my family."

"Karlovy Vary was great fun and a lovely festival the location is so
beautiful and they are so enthusiastic about film."

"It has been suggested that I now write the autobiography, I sent about
six pages of how I feel it should be and they liked it and want me to
write it. I really don't know if I have the discipline but I will try,
I think Brighton will be the  best place to write as there is no
distraction just the sound of the sea and the gulls, I will purchase a
new computer a lighter one so it is easy to carry when I travel."

Rita shot a film for director Nicolas Roeg called PUFFBALL, in the
Spring of 2006 in the Rossmore Forest in Ireland.

Puffball (2007) has just been released (18 July) in UK cinemas, and the
region 2 DVD by Yume Pictures is scheduled for release on 22 Sep 2008.

This is the fifth DVD of Rita's to be announced for release in 2008.
Good news for Tush fans!

Release 22 Apr 2008 - Mysteries (1978)
Release 04 Jun 2008 - The Hideout (2007)
Release 12 Aug 2008 - Gospel According To Harry (1993)
Release 22 Sep 2008 - Puffball (2007)
Release 13 Oct 2008 - A Taste Of Honey (1961)

I have links to online DVD retailers on my fansite
http://members.cox.net/rjd0309/tush/

I have uploaded MP3 files of the soundtrack of THE TRAP.

They are located in the folder:
FILES >> MUSIC FOLDER >> THE TRAP

File #3 failed to upload, as it is slightly too big for Yahoo's 5MB
filesize limit.  If you would like a copy of this file, I'll be happy
to send it to you by email -- just send me a message at rjd0309@...

Cheers,
Robert

Hi everyone,

Optimum Home Entertainment is scheduled to release their PAL region 2
DVD of "A Taste Of Honey" on 13 Oct 2008.

No word yet on whether Rita will be doing an audio commentary.  But
hopefully this will be an anamorphic widescreen release.

Here is some news from Rita --

"I have been helping Aisha move. She has a lovely flat near the river
with a lot more space. There is always so much to do when you move,
even more so when it's your daughter!"

Rita also says that she will be attending the Karlovy Film Festival in
July.  And she is waiting to meet some more ghost writers regarding her
autobiography.

Cheers,
Robert

I just received an email update from Rita, including some news about
her autobiography.  She says,

"The ghostwriter did not work out so we are looking for someone else,
she wrote 6 pages and it did not capture me at all, it was very flat
and without humour. She was very nice but not right for me. I have
been doing some writing myself as an example of how I would like it
to be."

Rita also addressed the question of her birth date.  She was born on
14 March 1942, but this has been widely mis-reported as 1940,
particularly by the IMDB (Internet Movie Database).  I have tried on
several occasions to get them to change this info, but they
stubbornly refuse.  I asked Rita about the birth dates of her
brothers, thinking that perhaps one of her brothers might have been
born in 1940, thereby making it medically impossible for Rita to have
also been born that year. She says,

"My brother Peter was born 02 June 1935. I had a sister Olive who was
born 10 August 1938 but sadly died at age six months. My brother
Colin was born on 22 April 1940, so obviously my brother's birth was
a phenomenon, a miracle, an unexpected event, especially if - as
people insist - I was born on the 14th of March 1940!"

"It's frustrating that people do not believe my birth date. I have
had a similar problem here and they refuse to change it. I have never
been shy of admitting my age; if I was going to change the date I
think I would knock off more than two years! My correct date of birth
appears in 'Who's Who', one of the most prestigious books of
reference, and more importantly in my Passport."

"I wonder if people will try and scratch out the date of birth on my
tombstone to correct the error that has, in their opinion, been made?"

"I am off to Brighton on Friday for some fresh sea air.
Love, Rita"