Scum (1977) on Netflix
Carlin, a hard case transferred for attacking an officer, arrives at a British borstal with Davis and Angel. Banks, the wing's head inmate, is told to keep him in line.
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- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb7.6/103,018 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
Three young inmates, Carlin, Davis and Angel, are driven to a British borstal. Davis has been caught trying to escape from an open borstal. Carlin comes from another institution as punishment for striking an officer, so he is placed in a dormitory while the other two receive private rooms. Mr. Sands, the senior officer, tells Carlin that he expects no trouble and that any offense will bring severe punishment. Carlin becomes friendly with Archer, an inmate who goes out of his way to annoy the staff. Banks, the wing's head inmate, hears of Carlin's reputation and is told to keep him in check. That night Banks and Richards attack Carlin and bruise his face. Sands, thinking he has been fighting, sends him to solitary confinement for three days.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Scum (1977)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Ray Winstone recalled that he and several others planned to give John Judd a real beating in the riot scene, because Judd had taken too well to playing the brutal warder Sands. Judd got wind of the plan and scrambled to get out of the mess hall, which only added to the effect of the riot.
- The completed play had passed the controller of BBC 1, Bryan Cowgill, without problems, but when Bill Cotton succeeded him it ran into difficulties in October 1977. Cuts were made at Cotton's request, including removing an earlier suicide, but Scum was still not transmitted.
- Margaret Matheson screened the banned play for the press in a Soho preview theater outside the BBC, which produced press coverage about the suppression. At that screening, Roy Minton dubbed the production the 'Billy Cotton Banned Show', after Billy Cotton Band Show, hosted by the BBC executive's father.
