Turn-Up for Tony (1968)

I'm a big fan of 1960s British Social Realist cinema, and here's a curious offshoot. Turn Up for Tony was made in 1968 by Tyne Tees Television, a dialogue-free comedy like Eric Sykes's The Plank, although this story, about a jobless Tyneside shipbuilder, also owes much to Billy Liar.

Our hapless hero, played by Tony Tanner, is looking for a job. He's also flirting with 'the girl' - delightfully played by Sheila Falconer, who spends much of her time in the most beautiful modernist cigarette kiosk. He vanishes into fantasties - a sophisticated high rise life in the newly built Cruddas Park flats; as a scientist, inventing water (!); and as a super-cool gambling spy, in a spoof of Casino Royale.

It's a very cute little gem, funny (if you like slapstick) and reminiscient of European comedies as much as Britain's new wave. And it's also a fantastic glimpse into T Dan Smith's modernist Newcastle, before the dreams dissipated in the 1970s.

You can see the film here.