
T. Dan Smith: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Utopia
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An experimental mix of thriller and documentary exploring the scandal centred on the one-time Newcastle Council Leader, aka The Mouth of the Tyne, who was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 1974 for corruption. A dynamic and visionary politician, Smith collaborated closely as Amber unpicked the story of a leftwing group of ex-war resisters who took control of the city council in 1960, the socialist and civic ambitions and the betrayals; the claims of MI5 involvement, of ministerial cover-ups and the unseen role of the Privy Council. With Smith appearing as himself and filmmakers Murray Martin and Steve Trafford as two journalists, the film interrogates the interviews and archive footage, weaving them together with a fictional scandal unfolding on the streets around them…
Cast

T. Dan Smith
Self

Dennis Skinner
Self

Murray Martin
Self

Jack Johnson
Self

Ken Skethaway
Self

Dave Hill
Jack Cross

Art Davies
Councillor Alan Deal

Christopher Northey
Jeremy Maudsley-Long

Steve Trafford
Steve

Martin Murray
Murray

Ralph Nossek
Home Secretary

Harry Herring
Councillor Albert

Cilla Mason
Councillor Edith

Elizabeth Mansfield
Newscaster

Amber Styles
Cleaner

Kay Wight
Alan Deal's Wife

Norma Day

Gwen Doran

Brian Hogg

Mike Mason

Dick McCullough

Joseph Neatrour

Max Roberts

Bob White

Lee Ross

Paul Heslop

Alan Twelvetree

Nigel Stanger
