Comedy

Billy Liar

ComedyDramaRomance

A lazy, irresponsible young clerk in provincial Northern England lives in his own fantasy world and makes emotionally immature decisions as he alienates friends and family.

Year

1963

Duration

1h 38m

IMDb

7.2

Trailer

Cast

John Schlesinger

Director

Tom Courtenay

Billy Fisher

Julie Christie

Liz

Wilfred Pickles

Geoffrey Fisher

Mona Washbourne

Alice Fisher

Ethel Griffies

Grandma Florence

Finlay Currie

Duxbury

GW

Gwendolyn Watts

Rita

HF

Helen Fraser

Barbara

Leonard Rossiter

Emanuel Shadrack

Rodney Bewes

Arthur Crabtree

George Innes

Stamp

LR

Leslie Randall

Danny Boon

Patrick Barr

Insp. MacDonald

Ernest Clark

Prison Governor

GW

Godfrey Winn

Disc Jockey

Jim Brady

Prisoner Escort

AB

Aleksander Browne

Bit Part

JB

James Byron

Serviceman

KW

Keith Waterhouse

Writer

WH

Willis Hall

Writer

Explore More

Discover partner platforms for games, short dramas, and more entertainment.

Gaming

Gamixo

Play top free games online — action, puzzle, and casual titles.

Short Drama

VSKIT Drama

Watch short-form dramas and vertical series on VSKIT.

Comments

5 comments

Art by DjessMay 29, 2023

source: Billy Liar

•°Random.Weeb°•√Nov 18, 2022

DanielNov 16, 2022

Billy Liar

A CUP OF JK💜Nov 16, 2022

UK production stars Tom Courtenay in a colorless performance as a member of the British working class who daydreams his way out of the monotony of life; Julie Christie is thoroughly charming as a local girl whose life really is a fairy tale. Adaptation of Keith Waterhouse's novel (which he co-wrote along with Willis Hall, having originally turned the material into a play), this mixture of stuck-in-a-rut reality with flights-of-fancy never quite finds its cinematic niche. The deceptively simple, 'non-flashy' flashy technique used by director John Schlesinger and his editor was quite fashionable for its time-- and consequently very popular abroad--but the picture tends to flag whenever the scenario is purposefully drab (or whenever Christie is not on-screen). Courtenay just isn't interesting enough as a personality to carry this callow conceit, although he gets good support from Finlay Currie and Wilford Pickles. Six BAFTA nominations with no wins. ** from ****

Christine ChiromboNov 16, 2022

Billy Liar John Schlesinger's excellent British comedy-drama concerns Billy (Tom Courtenay), a middle class young man who despises his position as a funeral parlor bookkeeper. Billy spends the majority of his time daydreaming of a much more interesting life filled with conquests, esp. of women. He'd love to quit his dead-end job and become a writer, but when the opportunity arrives, is he too content living in his head and telling lies to embellish his otherwise mundane existence? Too afraid to realize his dreams? This quirky slice-of-life is thematically similar to Le Distrait (The Daydreamer), a 1975 French release with an entirely different conclusion. A young, glowing Julie Christie appears briefly in Billy Liar, injecting color, life, and hope into Billy's dreary, black and white existence. Highly recommended. -- David Ross Smith