A Day at the Beach (1970)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This film, as you'll read on IMDb, was misplaced for many years and was only recently discovered. It is perhaps because it was rather unceremoniously released on DVD that would account for no closed captioning or DVD captions--a problem if you are hearing impaired. And, in addition, there are no special features--just a reasonably high quality print of the movie.As for the film, it's only the sort of movie a film snob would enjoy. People who go into raptures when they hear the word 'Polanski' will no doubt watch this film, whereas those who don't recognize him or only think of him as a dirty old man will likely never see this unimposing piece in the first place. Plus, it isn't exactly a pleasant film and is the sort of thing few non-devotees would chose in the first place. It takes a very unusual person to seek out this film. I picked it only because it featured a strange cameo by Peter Sellers as a very flamboyant gay man--and I'd watch anything with Sellers in it (though I must admit that his films vary tremendously in quality--particularly late in his career)."A Day at the Beach" is a rather grim and simple tale of an incredibly irresponsible jerk who takes his niece for a day. While this little girl idolizes him, he's obviously an alcoholic, deals with underworld types, is a habitual liar and has few, if any, qualities you can admire. He seems like a great portrait of a sociopath--a very unambitious and weasel-like sociopath. And, oddly, unlike a normal film, there doesn't appear to be much of a plot--just a rambling series of events and encounters on a rainy day by the sea. The uncle loses the girl repeatedly, cheats many people, drinks a lot and only seems to sporadically care about his young charge. In his own weird way, he does care--but he's very, very, very limited in this and every other respect.Overall, the film is well acted and well made...but also thoroughly unpleasant and difficult to enjoy. While not as unpleasant as films like "Leaving Las Vegas" or "Faces of Death", it is hard to watch and is rewarding only to a small and very select audience. As for me, I just wanted to see more Peter Sellers and just wanted the film to end after a while--it was like watching a very slow-motion train wreck.By the way, regardless of what you'll think of the thing, you have to admire the perseverance of the actors on such a grueling shoot. Every second of it is wet, wet, wet! It's pretty sad, then, that this piece sat on the shelves for so long--Mark Burns and Beatie Edney, among others, went through hell for this movie and they must have had to have fought illness and mold as a result of the almost constant wetness they endured. And actually, while I think about it, I am surprised that anyone would allow or subject a young child to such shooting conditions.By the way, I was really confused as all the main actors seemed to be Brits but it was obviously filmed in Scandinavia. It is a bit odd.

Being a great fan of European cinema in the early 60s, I loved Polanski's, Knife in the Water, Repulsion and Cul-de-Sac but was initially very disappointed with the full on colour film, Rosemary's Baby. Having now seen the most impressive A Day At The Beach which should have been released before Rosemary's Baby, I would certainly have been happier back then if the order of release had not been so drastically changed by circumstances. This great little film is much more akin to the director's early b/w features, although this is in colour, and is bleak indeed. Seemingly shot in a single day in the pouring rain on some desolate Danish beach we spend some time with a little girl and her 'uncle' who spends most of the time trying to get another drink. Despicable, though the lead often appears, there is an palpable bond between the two and it is quite startling that when others try to relate to the child, our hero seems peerless. Fascinating, dark and with a brilliant performance from the young girl, this also has some surprisingly horrific sequences (not counting the true horror of Graham Stark as some horrible underling of a gay Peter sellers!). Well worth searching out.

It's amazing to have finally seen this lost film. Poor Mark Burns died this year without ever having seen the finished film! Why was it lost? It's quite good but I can understand that even if this film had a normal release in cinemas it would not have been a hit. It's too sad and tragic. The performances are great, tho. Mark Burns plays a sensitive soul who loves his daughter but loves his drink a little bit more. Beatie Edney is amazing. One of the best child performances I've seen. It's fantastic to see that she grew up to be an even greater actress as an adult. She was in a chilling part in the TV series Prime Suspect.It's also nice to see the Danish beach where "A Day" was filmed and also to see the great Bergman actress Eva Dahlbeck in the small role of a café owner.

This was a dark piece indeed. The original story was a Danish book, I believe. The name of the author escapes me. The other comments are correct. It was a bleak look at alcoholism but hauntingly accurate. I loved the film. Painful to watch yet truthful. The little girl was amazing. Peter Sellars was great & his gay partner, whose name I've forgotten, was another great British comedian. Probably the best piece of trivia is that his wife, Sharon Tate, and others, were murdered in California while Polanski was in England editing the movie at Twickenhan Studios, after shooting insert shots there. Polanski left Twickenham Studios that night when he heard about the murders & never returned to finish the film. Had he done so, I am sure the film would have been released properly & been worthy of standing by his other work. I would love to see this film released on DVD.