2. A Day At The Beach (1970, 1992)
A Day at the Beach is a curiosity in the history of British film in that its a Roman Polanski film that Polanski never directed, and was subsequently lost in studio limbo for 22 years. Its a somber story of a deadbeat named Bernie (Mark Burns), the alcoholic uncle of a young girl named Winnie, who takes the child out for a day at the beach. It is implied that Uncle Bernie is actually the childs real father. The day at the beach is no picnic for Winnie, who has polio and wears a leg brace. Bernie spends the entire film binge drinking, and the child is left alone much of the time to fend for herself. The movie takes a hard look at alcoholism, and is at times painful and difficult to watch. The film is also famous for its cameo appearance by Peter Sellers, credited as A. Queen, whose performance as a gay beachside vendor is a memorable scene-stealer and among his best work. The production of the film, which was written by Polanski, was affected directly by the murder of his wife, actress Sharon Tate, by the Manson family in Los Angeles on August 9, 1969. Polanski flew back to the United States and Simon Hesera wound up directing his first and only film. Then the story gets strange. The film was lost for twenty years by Paramount, owing to a paperwork problem. It surfaced in 1992, was screened sporadically at the time. A Day at the Beach has all the hallmarks of a Polanski film from that era: it is dark, offbeat and emotionally sharp. While not a great film by any means, the most intriguing thing about the film for us is this: what might the film have been if Polanski had actually directed it?