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Billy Liar Poster

Billy Liar

Movie
1963
1h 38m
English
Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.
Rating
WATCHMODE
7.4
IMDB
Billy Liar (1963) on IMDb
CRITIC SCORE
88

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Tom Courtenay
William Terrence 'Billy' Fisher
Wilfred Pickles
Geoffrey Fisher
Mona Washbourne
Alice Fisher
Ethel Griffies
Grandma Florence
Leonard Rossiter
Emanuel Shadrack
Rodney Bewes
Arthur Crabtree
Leslie Randall
Danny Boon
Patrick Barr
Inspector MacDonald
Ernest Clark
Prison Governor
Godfrey Winn
Disc Jockey
Jack Cunningham
Ticket Examiner (uncredited)
Harry Landis
Man on Train (uncredited)
E V H Emmett
Newsreel Commentator (uncredited)
Anna Wing
Mrs. Crabtree (uncredited)
Sheila Fearn
Telephonist (uncredited)
Muriel Day
Singer - Dance Hall (uncredited)
Lester Leigh
Band Leader - Dance Hall (uncredite...
Reginald Green
Mr. Matthieson (uncredited)
Margaret Lacey
Mrs. Matthieson (uncredited)
Robin Parkinson
Jeweller's Assistant (uncredited)
Directed By: John Schlesinger
Written By: Willis Hall (Screenplay), Keith Waterhouse (Novel), + 1 more

Featured Comments/Tips

moonkodi says...
7 years ago
Better than I expected. Definitely socially significant to some degree. Escaping into deep fantasy was seen in the era of this movie, as borderline mental illness. Now the same degree of escapism as Billy, maybe even more, seems part of society. Billy's parents (mostly the father) were tough and heartless. As pathetic as it may be, I somewhat related to Billy within my younger self. Anyone who's had some tyle of dream or thoughts of escape will. Billy's feels trapped and wants more from life, against the reality of low expectation and meaningless mundane work. In a way it's one of lifes greatest struggles, that being facing the world at Billys age and knowing our place. Everyone draws their own line in how far they push dreams and fantasies. Having said all that I found it moderately entertainment and well acted. It's only your own thoughts that can elevate the movie.
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Featured User Reviews

CinemaSerf
one year ago
Tom Courtenay is "Billy", a lad whose grasp on reality is, well, tenuous. In his dreams, he is a brave and valiant life-saving sort of fellow. In real life he is a lowly clerk who works for a funeral director and lives with his increasingly exasperated parents. His problems only increase as he strug More
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CRCulver
6 years ago
Billy Liar is a 1963 British film that captures the monumental changes of the era: the sexual revolution and the destruction of England's old town centres in modernisation schemes. In Bradford, Yorkshire young Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay) is working a soul-crushing job in a funeral home and s More
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