Saturday, 01.18.2025
My site
Site menu
Statistics

Total online: 1
Guests: 1
Users: 0
Our poll
Rate my site
Total of answers: 155
Login form
Main » 2015 » October » 8 » The White Bus (1967) by Modculture 6 January, 2013
3:46 PM
The White Bus (1967) by Modculture 6 January, 2013

================================================

The White Bus (1967)

I’ve watched The White Bus in full twice this week and you know what? I still haven’t a clue what it’s actually about. Not that it matters, this mini movie is a joy on the eye and well worth 40 or so minutes of your time.

It certainly has an impressive pedigree. Based on a short story by Salford author Shelagh Delaney (the woman behind A Taste Of Honey) and with an original working title of Red, White and Zero, it was set to be one part of a trio of shorts, but due to budget problems and timing, the parts by Karel Reisz and Tony Richardson never happened. So instead, we just have this one solitary component by Lindsay Anderson, which appeared with little fanfare in 1967 and promptly disappeared.

Of late, The White Bus has started to get showings on one of the satellite movie channels (MGM) and can be found on YouTube (see below), so no longer the cult gem it once was. But on the plus side, this tale of one girl’s day in Manchester is now getting the wider audience it deserves.

The White Bus (1967)

So what’s the story? Well, there’s isn’t one really. The girl (played by the stunning Patricia Healey) is stuck in a dead end job in London. At the end of the day, she walks out and walks straight to the overnight train to Manchester (with a couple of distractions along the way), waking up in that city and wandering out into a deserted city centre.

The White Bus (1967)

The White Bus (1967)

After spending some time strolling around, she catches ‘The White Bus’, a maiden voyage of a bus taking the sights of ’60s Manchester which happens to be packed by a mixed crowd, headed up by the mayor himself (Arthur Lowe).

After that, we’re taken on a a journey around some less obvious sites, from the industrial expanses through to the arty locations, throwing in a few oddball visits along the way. When that’s over, the girl leaves, heads back to the city’s streets and ends the day with some fish ‘n’ chips.

Doesn’t sound great does it? Trust me, it’s better than you think. Director Lindsay Anderson obviously used this as a testing ground for future projects (including If… and Oh Lucky Man!), throwing in techniques like the use of black & white and colour scenes and a couple of ‘shock’ moments that will make you wonder whether this is reality or fantasy.

It’s neither. Or both. It’s also a film thick with imagery and hidden meaning – you can make your own mind up about all of that. The one thing I do know is that The White Bus is a wonderful thing to watch, especially if you are familiar with Manchester itself – the scene where ‘the girl’ emerges on Oxford Road near the Odeon is a joy to behold. Look out for early screen appearances from Anthony Hopkins and Barry ‘Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush’ Evans too.

 

 

The White Bus (1967)

by Modculture 6 January, 2013

================================================================

Intro: Am E7 G F played x2
 Am
here was me and my monkey
 E7 G
And with his dungarees and rollerblades smoking filter tips
 
 F
Reclining in the passenger seat of my super-charged jet black Chevrolet
 Am E7
He had the soft-top down (he liked the wind in his face)
 G
He said 'Son, you ever been to Vegas?' I said 'no'
 F 
 Am
He said 'that's where we're gonna go - you need a change of pace'
 E7
And we hit the strip with all the wedding chapels and the neon signs
 G 
 F Em
He said 'I left my wallet in El Segondo' and proceeded to take two grand of mine
 F Em
We made tracks to The Mandalay Bay Hotel
 F Em
Asked the bell boy if he'd take me 
and my monkey as well?
 
 Em
He looked in the passenger seat of my car and with a smile he said
 E7
'If your monkey's got that kind of money sir, then we've got a monkey bed!'

CHORES
Am
Me and my monkey
E7
With a dream and a gun
G F
I'm hoping my monkey don't point that gun at anyone
Am
Me and my monkey
E7
Like Butch and the Sundance Kid
G F
Trying to understand why he did what he did
Why he did what he did


We got the elevator, I hit the 33rd floor
We had a room up top with the panoramic views like nothing you'd ever seen
before
He went to sleep in the bidet and when he awoke
He ran his little monkey fingers through yellow pages
Called up escort services and ordered some okey doke
Forty minutes later there came a knock at the door
In walked this big bad ass baboon into my bedroom with three monkey whores
'Hi! My name is Sunshine - these are my girls
Lace my palm with silver baby and oh yeah, they'll rock your world'
So I watched pay-per-view and polished my shoes and my gun
Was diggin' old Kurt Cobain sing about lithium
There came a knock at the door and in walked Sunshine
'What's up? You'd better get your ass in here boy, your monkey's having too
much of a good time!'


Me and my monkey
Drove in search of the sun
Me and my monkey
Don't point that gun at anyone
Me and my monkey
Like Billy The Kid
Trying to understand why he did what he did
Why he did what he did


Got tickets to see Sheena Easton, the monkey was high
Said it was a burning ambition to see her before he died
We left before encores, he couldn't sit still
Sheena was a blast baby but my monkey was ill
We went to play black-jack, kept hitting twenty three
Couldn't help but notice this Mexican just staring at me
Or was it my monkey? I couldn't be sure
It's not like you'd never seen a monkey in rollerblades and dungarees before
Now don't test my patience 'cause we're not about to run
That's a bad ass monkey boy and he's packing a gun
'My name is Rodriguez', he says with death in his eye
'I've been chasing you for a long time amigos, and now your monkey's gonna die!'

Me and my monkey
Drove in search of the sun
Me and my monkey
We don’t wanna kill no Mexican
But we got ten itchy fingers
One thing to declare
When the monkey is high
You do not stare
You do not stare
You do not stare

Looks like we got ourselves a Mexican standoff here boy
huh...
And I ain’t about to run
Put your gun down boy
huh huh...
How did I get mixed up with this fucking monkey anyhow?

===============================================

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Views: 573 | Added by: defaultNick | Rating: 5.0/2
Total comments: 0
Search
Calendar
«  October 2015  »
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
    123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
Entries archive
Site friends
  • Create a free website
  • Your Online Desktop
  • Free Online Games
  • Video Tutorials
  • All HTML Tags
  • Browser Kits
  • Copyright MyCorp © 2025
    Make a free website with uCoz