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A Day at the Beach

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A Day at the Beach
Directed bySimon Hesera
Written byRoman Polanski
Produced byGene Gutowski
StarringMark Burns
Beatie Edney
Maurice Roëves
Jack MacGowran
Eva Dahlbeck
Graham Stark
Fiona Lewis
Peter Sellers
CinematographyGilbert Taylor
Edited byAlastair McIntyre
Music byMort Shuman
Production
companies
Release date
  • 1970 (1970)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

A Day at the Beach is a 1970 British film based on the 1962 book Een dagje naar het strand by Dutch author Heere Heeresma.[1] The screenplay was written by Roman Polanski, who was originally intended to be the director, although most of the direction was finally done by first-timer Simon Hesera.[citation needed]

Plot

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Set in a rundown Danish seaside resort, it depicts a day in the life of Bernie, a self-destructive alcoholic, as he takes Winnie, a young girl with a leg brace, to the resort despite constant rain. Though Winnie calls Bernie "uncle", he is likely her biological father.[citation needed] Over the course of the day, they encounter various people whom Bernie alternately berates and scams for alcohol, while Winnie is often left alone to fend for herself.

Cast

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Release

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The film was never released in theatres at the time of its completion, but has seen limited runs at film festivals since then. A small clip of the film appears in the documentary The Unknown Peter Sellers: Sellers himself has a cameo role as a small shop owner with his partner (played by Graham Stark), and both are homosexual. Sellers used the pseudonym "A. Queen" in the credits.

Restoration

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The film spent two decades in a vault at Paramount in London and was restored in 1993 by its director and shown at the American Film Market. It had been lost due to a paperwork error.[2]

Home media

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The film is available on DVD in the U.S from Code Red DVD. It's available for streaming on Fandor.

References

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  1. ^ "A Day at the Beach". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  2. ^ Ayscough, Suzan (11 February 1993). "Polanski pic found in Par vault". Variety (published 15 February 1993). p. 5. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
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