The Go-Between

"In those days, you fell in love with your own class. Or found a Go-Between."

1971 1h 56m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 166

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

British teenager Leo Colston spends a summer in the countryside, where he develops a crush on the beautiful young aristocrat Marian. Eager to impress her, Leo becomes the "go-between" for Marian, delivering secret romantic letters to Ted Burgess, a handsome neighboring farmer.

“In those days, you fell in love with your own class. Or found a Go-Between.”

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Cast

Julie Christie
Lady Marian Trimingham
Alan Bates
Ted Burgess
Edward Fox
Hugh Trimingham
Michael Redgrave
The Older Leo Colston
Dominic Guard
The Young Leo Colston
Margaret Leighton
Mrs Maudsley
Michael Gough
Mr Maudsley
Richard Gibson
Marcus Maudsley

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joseph Losey
Writers: Harold Pinter
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joseph Losey, shot by Gerry Fisher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michel Legrand. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Reginald Beck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Julie Christie and Alan Bates and Edward Fox carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In those days, you fell in love with your own class. Or found a Go-Between.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0067144 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joseph Losey directs. Gerry Fisher behind the camera. Michel Legrand scores. Reginald Beck cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
255 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Joseph Losey, shot by Gerry Fisher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Michel Legrand. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Reginald Beck shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Julie Christie and Alan Bates and Edward Fox carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In those days, you fell in love with your own class. Or found a Go-Between.".
8IMDB entry: tt0067144 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "countryside", "based on novel or book", "england", "forbidden love".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gerry Fisher
Original score: Michel Legrand
Editing: Reginald Beck
Costume design: John Furniss
Runtime: 116 min · 1h 56m
Status: Released
Budget: $100,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Go-Between (1971)

Awards

BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay
Palme d'Or
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Joseph Losey

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-05-29
★ 6/10
Sadly, time has not been very kind to the potency of this film. In 2020s society, the overwhelming feeling of "so what?" is hard to shake off; despite some really strong performances. Dominic Guard is "Leo", just 13 when he is invited to summer at the Norfolk country home of one of his classmates. He quickly befriends his older sister "Marian" (Julie Christie) and is soon acting - innocently, at first - as her courier passing ostensibly harmless letters between herself, her fiancée "Hugh" (Edward Fox) and a swarthy tenant farmer "Ted" (Alan Bates). Guard is great as the young man who starts to put two and two together as he slowly gets caught up in this menage-à-trois whilst trying to accommodate his own sexual awakening. His own naive inquisitiveness gives his character an engaging and frustrating quality that we might all have related to, once upon a time. Losey's pace is off, though - it can be quite a slow burn at times and, unusually, I found the score from Michel Legrand quite distractingly repetitive. The cinematography showed off the locale to perfection and the dialogue from LP Hartley via Harold Pinter succinctly demonstrates class distinction and prejudice well.

Production companies