Very stagy and fairly artificial film version of a play of the same name. With the kitchen sink dramas still a good few years away - and I often wondered who was Scotland's answer to Arthur Seaton, Frank Machin and Jimmy Porter? - this was as cutting edge as social commentary was allowed to get.
I'm not going to be too harsh here. Yes, everyone speaks with an Aberdeenshire accent; the tenements look like facsimiles, with none of the filth and grime; the pacing's slow and the acting is variable. However, it was good to see earlier roles from Russell Hunter, Andrew Keir and a couple of others. Some second unit photography of the Saltmarket, The Clyde and the dance halls captures the spirit of the times.
In a couple of ironic twists, I wonder how this feature was received by the local on its release - The Gorbals had over twenty cinemas in the area back in those days, and it was shown back in 2015 in the Citizen Theatre.
Moreover, the action (presumably) takes place a stone's throw from Crown Street, epicenter of the seminal Glasgow novel 'No Mean City'; there's an adaptation we're still waiting for nearly 90 years later!