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Melanie Williams

@britfilmmelanie.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.3K following 304 posts

Norwich-based film and media prof. Books on A Taste of Honey, 1960s, stardom, David Lean, Ealing, J. Lee Thompson, etc. Currently working on ace director Muriel Box. Opinions very much my own.

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Reposted by Melanie Williams
Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 23h
Okay, so Reform is now actively advocating for the armed forces to murder unarmed civilians as official policy. At what point does the media at large stop treating these people as anything but fascistic far right thugs who under any normal functioning system would be condemned as extremists.
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Spinky’s Mama @spinkysmama.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
1st time reading Stick Man: What a lovely story. We’ll have it again tomorrow? 10th time reading Stick Man: Oh look, a nativity card behind Stick Man. 50th time reading Stick Man: so Jesus exists in the Stick Man universe? 100th time reading Stick Man: iS sTiCk mAN A fRaGment oF tHe tRUe cROsS?
A page from Stick Man by Julia Donaldson. Behind Stick Man there is a sideboard with Christmas cards one of which shows the blessed Virgin Mary with baby Jesus.
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Captain Howdy @captainhowdy.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
'Don't Look Now' is on BBC2 at 22.45, tonight, which means I can swerve another day of making a fresh Hallowmeme.
This alt-text contains a +++SPOILER+++ for the movie, so if you haven't seen it, now is the time to stop reading. It's the 4 panel Drake meme, but Drake has been swapped for Donald Sutherland in "Don't Look Now". The top left panel shows a smiling Donald pointing at the image of his daughter, wearing her red jacket and holding a pretty mad looking toy, in the top right panel. The bottom left panel shows a distraught Donald holding his hands up to avoid getting slashed by the diminutive serial killer wearing a hooded red duffel coat and holding onto a vicious looking knife in the bottom right panel.
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ReelStreets @reelstreets.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Do you recognise these buildings seen in the title sequence of 1963's 'Billy Liar'. If so, please let us know and the first to tell us will be credited with the identification. The film was mainly shot in Bradford, Leeds, London and Manchester. Thanks in advance for looking.
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Paul Hayes @paul-hayes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
70 years ago today, the BBC showed a recording of the CBC's Flight into Danger - later remade as the film Airplane!, and one of the important steps on the way to the creation of #DoctorWho. To celebrate, here's a much longer edit of my audio documentary telling Flight into Danger's story:
youtube.com
Flight into Danger - The Story of the Original Airplane! (an audio documentary)
YouTube video by Paul Hayes
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Woohoo! (thrilled to be described as a guru as well)
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Paul Hayes @paul-hayes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This evening in 1956, at 7.55pm, BBC TV ran a trail for a drama they'd be showing the next day - a recording of the CBC play Flight into Danger. So it seems appropriate, exactly 70 years on, to trail that tomorrow I'll be putting out an extended edit of my audio doc on Flight - now 66 minutes long!
A partial screen capture from a computer screen, showing an Adobe Audition audio editing session, with many dozens of clips split over four different tracks.
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Goon Pod @goonpod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If ever I write a book about British comedy this is the cover
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British Comedy Guide @britishcomedy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
"The show was well and truly doomed." Comedy Chronicles looks back at Hale & Pace moving to the BBC and their oddly titled final series, 'h&p@bbc.' www.comedy.co.uk/features/com...
comedy.co.uk
It seemed a good idea at the time #8: h&p@bbc. - Comedy Chronicles - British Comedy Guide
A look back at sketch double act Hale & Pace's move from ITV to the BBC, and h&p@bbc., the oddly named and poorly received show which turned out to be their final TV series.
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Neugin @lostcitymagic.bsky.social · 28/06/2024
🎶row, row, robocop
Gently down the stream
Directive one: uphold the law
I am part machine🎶
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Excited to be keynote speaker for this essential biennial conference where all the feminist media historians gather!
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Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Two whole months of Wilder at the bfi! Really looking forward to this, of course - not least my own participation, at a discussion event with @christinalefou.bsky.social and season curator Ruby McGuigan on November 4th.
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Chris Orton @chriso1.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Sorry, who is he playing in which series?
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Omg is this actually real?
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Some fun stuff upcoming if you're a British film geek who can get to London - see our @baftss.bsky.social SIG site for more info britishcinemaandtelevisionsig.wordpress.com/2026/08/22/b...
britishcinemaandtelevisionsig.wordpress.com
Bumper pack at the BFI
There are a number of events taking place at the British Film Institute, London that are of interest to, or supported by, members of the British cinema and television SIG. Since these are all happe…
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Tim Worthington @outonbluesix.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Looking for a quicker and easier and only moderately more sarcastic way of catching up with Marvel's recommended viewing list ahead of Avengers: Doomsday? Well I might be able to help you with that... timworthington.org/2026/08/19/i...
timworthington.org
It’s Good, Except It Sucks: Countdown To Avengers: Doomsday
A quicker – and only moderately more sarcastic – way of getting caught up on Marvel’s watch list ahead of Avengers: Doomsday.
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Charlotte Canning @cmcanning.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Same
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James Butler @piercepenniless.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This is an attempted lynching, which will be treated with much less seriousness then pensioners holding up Palestine Action placards.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
‘Listening’ to ‘legitimate concerns’ is what led us to violent riots in Thetford. Embracing flag-shagging is what inspires lynch mobs. These are the worst of people, and we should have said so clearly and loudly from the start. We should be saying it now.
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martha shearer @marthashearer.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
classroom on the simpsons elated after bart says the line
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Alan B @gallonofalan.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
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Matthew Bailey @whyoutloud.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Fabulous. Sobers notably not so: Rewind to 1973: A Test hundred with a hangover | Cricinfo share.google/AuQKU1GXlijG...
share.google
A Test hundred with a hangover
Garry Sobers starred in an innings victory after a night (and some of the day) about the town
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
They say don't meet your heroes but I beg to differ: it was a delight and a thrill to interview Sir Tom Courtenay
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Robert Sharp @mrrobertsharp.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Found myself in the Curzon Mayfair cinema watching "Billy Liar" in the company of its star, Sir Tom Courtenay. First time viewing for me, made more enjoyable by the post show Q&A by the delightful @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social. Tom has a new film on release soon with the incomparable Juliette Binoche
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Jon Dies At The End @accordingtojond.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Wonderful afternoon at the Curzon Mayfair to see the 4K @studiocanal.com restoration of Billy Liar, the perfect pitch of British New Wave realism and genuinely funny comedy. With Tom Courtenay himself in attendance, expertly hosted by @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social
Title card for Billy Liar Wide shot of Melanie Williams introducing the film. Q&A with Sir Tom Courteney and Melanie Williams.
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Alan Barnes @senrabnala.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
A man could lose himself in London. But fortunately the great Tom Courtenay found his way to a screening of the new restoration of Billy Liar this afternoon.
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Another great bit, this time on the Venn diagram of booze and lolz
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P.G. Wodelouse @pgwodelouse.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
James Robertson Justice
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Paul Hayes @paul-hayes.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Because I thought it'd be a shame not to spread the story further, I volunteered to do a write-up of a radio interview my colleague Matthew did about the time Garry Sobers popped round to visit a young cricket fan in Norwich:
bbc.co.uk
The day Sir Garfield Sobers turned up in my Norwich sitting room
Cricket fan recalls the moment Sir Garfield Sobers popped into his parents' Norwich terraced house to say hello.
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Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Scrolling through old pictures and being reminded of the time when one of my novels was an A/S Level set text and I vanity-searched Twitter to see what students were saying about it, and got a warm glow at the thought that I was inspiring a whole new generation of readers.
Old tweet in which a school student wrote that 'My literature teacher can shove the Rotters' Club up her arse'.
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Please think about helping this wonderful shrine to all things cinematic! www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/Onvr11Kn
crowdfunder.co.uk
The Cinema Museum: HELP US BUY OUR HOME
After 40 years of uncertainty, we have a chance to secure our home. We need £500,000 to purchase our home and we have five months to do it!
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Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Me and @whyoutloud.bsky.social, in 2024, on fringe candidates - a tradition long before the binman commeth. www.politicshome.com/thehouse/art...
politicshome.com
A history of fringe candidates
There will be a record number of candidates at this election. Many of them will be very serious. But not all.
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
'If a piece of meat held between the finger and thumb of the gloved hand is offered to the hawk, it will probably bend down and pull at the meat with its beak.' Yep, I'm entering the falconry discourse with this piece on Kes for BFI www.bfi.org.uk/inside-the-a...
bfi.org.uk
How to train a kestrel: the original notes from the making of Kes
These production notes reveal how Ken Loach’s commitment to authenticity connected Billy Casper’s self-taught falconry on screen with first-time actor David Bradley’s own crash course in handling bird...
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Chris Parr @chrisjparr.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Time and again I think that THIS is the stat universities should shout, shout & shout again about. New education export data again show HE responsible for nearly three-quarters of a £37bn UK revenue source. Fund our universities! Source: explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statist...
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
More BFI object of the week stuff, and this time it's got that Ealing feeling www.bfi.org.uk/inside-the-a...
bfi.org.uk
The back room from Dead of Night: the production design for a dusty hiding place
In a section of Ealing’s classic anthology horror Dead of Night, children hide in an empty room that’s become a dumping ground for obsolete household items. The original production design sketched out...
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Did a Muriel seminar and now it's online for all to enjoy m.youtube.com/watch?v=WH1r...
m.youtube.com
Muriel Box and the Truth About Women Directors
YouTube video by Film, Theatre & Televsion | University of Reading
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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Exeter is a great university, so what on earth is its management doing? Meanwhile, the government needs to get a grip: It's cut real term funding per student by 35% in the last decade, while doing its best to lose lucrative income from international students. #DefendExeterUni
Headline from Times Higher Education:

"University of Exeter cuts an 'existential threat to humanities'.

"Russell Group institution cites changing student demand as it puts 500 staff at risk of redundancy, with 150 jobs set to go."

Published June 23, 2026Exeter UCU: Our six key messages

 1. Exeter Uni's finances are strong. We've large cash reserves (£200m in 24/25). Never had a budget deficit. This 'crisis' is manufactured.
 
 2. Executive pay at Exeter is out of control. If just the 16 highest-paid execs capped their salary at £120k, we'd save more money than all the cuts to archaeology & history!
 
 3. No meaningful consultation, but a confused mess: faulty and insufficient data, no real discussion, and an impossible, insulting, and unreasonable timetable to push this through over the summer.
 
 4. An all-staff meeting of 600 staff resoundingly voted no confidence in Vice Chancellor Lisa Roberts (whose pay is pushing £400k). We believe this is the biggest single vote by any uni staff in the history of UK HE.
 
 5. Redundancies are a management choice, not a financial necessity. They even have alternative costed plans with no cuts, but think it's easier to go for job losses.
 
 6. Exeter is a fantastic uni, with world-class research, creative and inspiring teaching, and a caring, thoughtful, and imaginative community of staff and students. Let's keep it that way.
 

#DefendExeterUni
@uniexeterucu

QR link to sign our petition

https://www.change.org/p/stop-redundancies-at-the-university-of-exeter-706befbf-8195-4b87-a96c-13666e695878
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes - like Julie Christie does at the end of Darling www.bfi.org.uk/inside-the-a...
bfi.org.uk
Object of the week: Costume designs for Julie Christie in the swinging 60s drama Darling
These costume designs by Julie Harris helped to create one of the iconic figures of swinging London: Julie Christie’s upwardly mobile fashion model in the 1965 drama Darling.
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Tom Reagan’s Witch’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
It’s Dennis Price’s birthday. He’s superb as Wildean serial killer Louis in Kind Hearts. This is one of the most powerful scenes in cinema as he ensnares his final target & all ironic wit disappears, leaving only his anger at the vile class system that killed his mother. youtu.be/mDvSLHhhhs8?...
youtu.be
FC68a Kind Hearts and Coronets 1949 2
YouTube video by Fingers Paul
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Oh Alec...
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Stuart Millard @franticplanet.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Walked to the 'office' and now sat wiping my forehead like Mike McShane halfway through the props round
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Colm Murphy @colmpm.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
I hope Hull History Centre won't mind me sharing this lovely letter from Roy Hattersley's papers, on the sad news of his passing aged 93. RIP.
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Likewise very happy to have been involved in this great Hammer release ⏳️
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Melanie Williams @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Another BFI archival bit from me, this time on Pressburger, pre-Powell www.bfi.org.uk/inside-the-a...
bfi.org.uk
Emeric Pressburger’s screening room pass for the UFA film studios in pre-Nazi Germany
This is the pass that Emeric Pressburger – later half of Powell and Pressburger – used to access the screening theatre at Germany’s biggest film studio, just before he fled Berlin in the early 1930s.
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Maggie Hennefeld @hennefem.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
HBD to the legendary joyful/angry feminist and superlative filmmaker Agnès Varda (1928-2019)!!! 🎊🎞️
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tnyfrontrow.bsky.social @tnyfrontrow.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
In memory and honor of the sociologist and philosopher Edgar Morin, who, in 1960, published the essay in which he coined the term cinéma-vérité and co-directed, with Jean Rouch, the film—Chronicle of a Summer—that showed what he had in mind. He passed away yesterday, at age 104.
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Jake Archibald @jakearchibald.com · 28/05/2026
Asking Google "how many ps are in archibald". The response:

There are 2 'p's in the word Archibald.

A-R-C-H-I-P-A-L-D
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𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐨 @agnes-guano.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
One of the more unlikely artists to appear on the Motown label. From 1977, Albert Finney's Album.
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Tony Paley @tpaleyfilm.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
#bestfilminlondontoday May 27 at capitalcelluloid.blogspot.com guide to rep cinema scene. @britfilmmelanie.bsky.social intros 35mm screening of neo-realist influenced TURN THE KEY SOFTLY (1953) in great British Post-War cinema season at BFI capitalcelluloid.blogspot.com/2026/05/capi...
capitalcelluloid.blogspot.com
Capital Celluloid 2026 — Day 147: Wed May 27
Turn the Key Softly (Lee, 1953): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 6.15pm This 35mm screening, introduced by Professor Melanie Williams,  is part of the ...
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