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{{short description|1968 British film by Lindsay Anderson}}
{{About|the 1968 drama film||If (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| image          = If British poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = British cinema poster
| director       = [[Lindsay Anderson]]
| producer       = Lindsay Anderson<br />[[Michael Medwin]]
| screenplay     = [[David Sherwin]]
| story          = David Sherwin<br />[[John Howlett]]
| starring       = [[Malcolm McDowell]]<br />[[Richard Warwick]]<br />[[Christine Noonan]]<br />[[David Wood (actor)|David Wood]]<br />[[Robert Swann (actor)|Robert Swann]]
| music          = [[Marc Wilkinson]]
| cinematography = [[Miroslav Ondříček]]
| editing        = [[David Gladwell]]
| studio         = Memorial Enterprises
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1968|12|5|[[London Film Festival]]|1968|12|19|London}}
| runtime        = 111 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom
| budget         = $500,000<ref name="walker">Alexander Walker, ''Hollywood, England'', Stein and Day, 1974 p402</ref>
| gross          = $2.3 million <small>(rentals)</small><ref>"Big Rental Films of 1969", ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', 7 January 1970 p 15</ref>
| language       = English
}}

'''''If....''''' (stylized as '''''if....''''') is a 1968 British [[Satire (film and television)|satirical]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] produced and directed by [[Lindsay Anderson]], and starring [[Malcolm McDowell]] as the character [[Mick Travis]], who appeared in two further Anderson films. Other actors include  [[Richard Warwick]], [[Christine Noonan]], [[David Wood (actor)|David Wood]], and [[Robert Swann (actor)|Robert Swann]].<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=If.... |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150197427 |access-date=6 March 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref> A satire of [[Public School (United Kingdom)|English public school]] life, the film follows a group of pupils who stage a savage insurrection at a boys' boarding school. 

The film is notable for jumpstarting McDowell's and Anderson's career, its use of black-and-white and colour switches throughout the film, and its blend of surreal and realistic elements. Film historians have debated why the film switches out of colour for years, but the real reason was because the crew did not have enough money to buy colour for most of the interior scenes. Anderson has disagreed with these rumours and said that he switches the colour to distort the viewer. 

Upon release, ''If....'' received critical acclaim, with praise for its powerful and accurate depiction of the British public school system. It continues to be considered one of the greatest British films of the 20th century for its portrayal of youthful rebellion.

==Plot==
The pupils return after the summer for a new [[Michaelmas term]] at a traditional British [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public school]] for boys in the late 1960s. [[Mick Travis]] arrives hiding his moustache, which he quickly shaves off. He, Wallace, and Knightly are three non-conformist boys in the lower [[sixth form]], their penultimate year. They are watched and persecuted by the "Whips", upper sixth-formers given authority as [[School prefect|prefects]] over the other boys. The junior boys are made to [[fagging|act as personal servants]] for the Whips, who discuss them as [[sex object]]s.

The headmaster is remote from the boys and the housemasters. The protagonists' housemaster, Mr. Kemp, is easily manipulated by the Whips into giving them free rein in enforcing discipline. Some [[schoolmaster]]s are shown behaving bizarrely.

Mick and Johnny sneak off the school grounds and steal a motorbike from a showroom. They ride to a café staffed by an unnamed girl, about whom Mick fantasizes wrestling naked. Meanwhile, Wallace spends time with a younger boy, Bobby Philips, and later shares his bed.

The three boys drink vodka in their study and consider how one man holds the potential to "change the world with a bullet in the right place." Their clashes with school authorities become increasingly contentious. Eventually, a brutal [[caning]] by the Whips spurs them to action.

During a school [[Combined Cadet Force]] military drill, Mick acquires live ammunition, which he, Wallace, and Knightly use to open fire on a group of boys and masters, including Kemp and the school chaplain. When the latter orders the boys to drop their weapons, Mick assaults him and cows him into submission.

As punishment for their actions, the trio are ordered by the headmaster to clean out a large storeroom beneath the main school hall. They discover a cache of firearms, including [[Automatic firearm|automatic weapons]] and [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]]. Joined by Philips and the girl from the café, they commit to [[Rebellion|revolt]] against the establishment.

On Founders' Day, when parents are visiting the school, the group starts a fire under the hall, smoking everyone out of the building. They then open fire on them from the rooftop. Led by a visiting [[general (United Kingdom)|general]] who had been giving a speech, the staff, students, and parents break open the Combined Cadet Force armoury and begin firing back. The headmaster tries to stop the fight, imploring the group to listen to [[reason]]. The girl shoots him between the eyes. The battle continues, and the camera closes in on Mick's face as he keeps firing.

==Cast==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Malcolm McDowell]] as [[Mick Travis|Michael Arnold "Mick" Travis]]
* [[Richard Warwick]] as “Wally” Wallace
* [[Christine Noonan]] as The Girl
* [[David Wood (actor)|David Wood]] as Johnny Knightly
* Rupert Webster as Bobby Philips
* [[Robert Swann (actor)|Robert Swann]] as Rowntree
* [[Peter Jeffrey]] as Headmaster
* [[Arthur Lowe]] as Mr. Kemp, Housemaster
* [[Mona Washbourne]] as Matron
* [[Ben Aris]] as John Thomas, Undermaster
* [[Robin Askwith]] as Keating
* [[Robin Davies]] as Machin
* [[Hugh Thomas (actor)|Hugh Thomas]] as Denson
* Michael Cadman as Fortinbras
* Guy Ross as Stephans
* Martin Beaumont as Hunter
* [[John Garrie]] as Music master (uncredited)
* Philip Bagenal as Peanuts
* [[Charles Sturridge]] as Markland
* [[Graham Crowden]] as History master
* [[Tommy Godfrey]] as Finchley the school porter (uncredited)
* [[David Griffin (actor)|David Griffin]] as Willens
* [[Charles Lloyd-Pack]] as Classics master
* [[Simon Ward]] as schoolboy (uncredited)
* Richard Everett as Pussy Graves
* Ellis Dale as Motorcycle salesman (uncredited)
* [[Peter Sproule]] as Barnes
* [[Sean Bury]] as Jute
* [[Brian Pettifer]] as Biles
* [[Mary MacLeod (actress)|Mary MacLeod]] as Mrs. Kemp, housemaster's wife
* [[Geoffrey Chater]] as Chaplain
* [[Anthony Nicholls (actor)|Anthony Nicholls]] as General Denson
* Michael Newport as Brunning
{{div col end}}

==Influences==
The film's [[surrealism|surrealist]] sequences have been compared to [[Jean Vigo]]'s French classic ''[[Zero for Conduct]]'' (1933). Anderson acknowledged an influence, and described how he arranged a viewing of that film with his screenwriters, Sherwin and Howlett, at an early stage in production planning, though in his view the Vigo film's influence on ''If....'' was structural rather than merely cosmetic. "Seeing Vigo's film gave us the idea and also the confidence to proceed with the kind of scene-structure that we devised for the first part of the film particularly."<ref name="LA 1/6/3/8">{{cite web|url=http://www.is.stir.ac.uk/libraries/collections/anderson/inhisownwordsifzero.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218155428/http://www.is.stir.ac.uk/libraries/collections/anderson/inhisownwordsifzero.php |archivedate=18 February 2012|publisher=[[University of Stirling]]|date=2004|quote=Extract from letter written in 1976 by Lindsay Anderson to Jack Landman in which he discusses the parallels between ''If....'' and [[Jean Vigo]]{{'}}s ''[[Zero for Conduct]]'' (LA 1/6/3/8)|title=The Anderson Collection|website=is.stir.ac.uk|accessdate=14 February 2008}}</ref>

==Production==
===Screenplay===
[[David Sherwin]]'s original title for the screenplay was ''Crusaders'', during the writing of which he drew heavily from his experiences at [[Tonbridge School]] in Kent. In 1960, he and his friend and co-writer [[John Howlett]] took it to director [[Seth Holt]]. Holt felt unqualified to direct, but offered to produce the film. They also took it to Sherwin's hero, ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' director [[Nicholas Ray]], who liked it but had a [[Mental breakdown|nervous breakdown]] before anything came of it. Holt introduced Sherwin to [[Lindsay Anderson]] in a [[Soho]] pub.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 July 2007 |title=If.... |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/dvd/if |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217065453/http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/dvd/if |archive-date=17 February 2012 |access-date=26 May 2017 |website=[[Total Film]]}}</ref>

===Filming===
The school used for the early filming on location was Anderson's ''[[alma mater]]'', [[Cheltenham College]], Gloucestershire, but this was not made public at the time under the agreement needed to shoot there. The then headmaster, David Ashcroft, persuaded the school governors to agree that the film could be made. [[Aldenham School]] in [[Elstree]], Hertfordshire, was used for later scenes filmed after previous summer commitments prevented further shooting at Cheltenham. The sweat room scenes were filmed in the School Room in School House at Aldenham School (though they were redesigned for the film). The dormitory scenes were also at Aldenham—specifically The Long Room for the junior boys, and the room with the wooden partitions called Lower Cubs (short for cubicles). The shower scene and toilets were in School House changing rooms.

The transport cafe was the (now demolished) Packhorse Cafe on the [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5/Watling Street]] in [[Kensworth]], Dunstable, Bedfordshire, close to the Packhorse Pub. The painting in the dining hall is of Aldenham School's founder, Richard Platt. The Hall scene was an amalgamation of the school halls at Cheltenham and Aldenham. [[Beddington#Carew Manor|Carew Manor]], in [[Beddington]], Surrey, was used for the opening staircase scene and for several other scenes. It was filmed during the summer when the school had closed for holidays. Some scenes were shot at the former [[Trinity School of John Whitgift]] in central Croydon, before it was demolished to make way for the [[Whitgift Centre]]; pupil extras from the separate [[Whitgift School]] were engaged at £5 per day.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Anderson originally approached [[Charterhouse School]] and later [[Cranleigh School]] for permission to shoot the film: negotiations were going well until the schools discovered the content of the film and pulled out. The outside shots of the school including the final showdown on the roof were filmed at Cheltenham College after term ended. The Speech Day interior was filmed inside St John's Church on Albion Street, [[Cheltenham]]. The church was later demolished. The motorbike shop was filmed at the Broadway Motor Company on Gladstone Road, [[Wimbledon, London|Wimbledon]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Behind The Scenes on If... |url=http://www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk/home/1960s-1/if-1968/behind-the-scenes-with-if |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304125042/http://www.gloucestershireonscreen.co.uk/home/1960s-1/if-1968/behind-the-scenes-with-if |archive-date=4 March 2012 |access-date=24 May 2017}}</ref>

The film makes use of [[black-and-white]] sequences. In the audio commentary to the 2007 DVD release, Malcolm McDowell confirmed that lighting the chapel scenes for colour filming would have taken much longer than for black and white.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=If.... |orig-year=1968 |others=Lindsay Andersen |type=DVD audio commentary to the film |publisher=[[Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment|Paramount Home Entertainment]] |location=Los Angeles |id=PHE 9395 |year=2007}}</ref> The time they could use the school chapel was limited, so Anderson opted to not shoot those scenes in colour. Liking the effect this gave, he then decided to shoot other sequences in black and white to improve the 'texture' of the film. As a child, he was impressed watching a gangster film which started in black and white and then turned to colour.<ref>Sutton (2005).</ref>

===Post-production===
The black-and-white sequence featuring Mrs Kemp (Mary MacLeod) walking naked through the school was allowed by the then Secretary of the Board of the [[British Board of Film Censors]], [[John Trevelyan (censor)|John Trevelyan]], on the condition that shots of male genitalia from the shower scene were removed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gary Couzens |date=27 July 2007 |title=DVD review: if.... |url=http://film.thedigitalfix.com/content/id/65418/if.html |url-status=dead |website=The Digital Fix |access-date=12 March 2014 |archive-date=12 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312213035/http://film.thedigitalfix.com/content/id/65418/if.html }}</ref>

Music featured in the film includes the 'Sanctus', from the [[Missa Luba]], a rendering of the Roman Latin mass sung to African beat by a Congolese choir.

==Release==
The film closed the [[London Film Festival]] on 5 December 1968 before opening in London later that month.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Montreal Star]]|date=23 November 1968|page=23|last=Oakes|first=Philip|title=Film-maker Anderson - a belief in ambiguity}}</ref>
==Reception==
===Critical reception===
''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' wrote: "A modern classic in which Anderson minutely captures both the particular ethos of a public school and the general flavour of any structured community, thus achieving a clear allegorical force without sacrificing a whit of his exploration of an essentially British institution. The impeccable logic of the conclusion is in no way diminished by having been lifted from [[Jean Vigo|Vigo]]'s ''[[Zero for Conduct|Zéro de Conduite]]'' [1933], made thirty-five years earlier. ''If...'' was also a timely film – shooting began two months before the events of May 1968 in Paris. Along with ''[[The White Bus]]'', it put Anderson into a pretty high league."<ref>{{Cite web |last=SG |date=2012-09-10 |title=If… |url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/if |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=Time Out Worldwide |language=en-GB}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "Timely and timeless, this is a punchy, poetic pic that delves into the epic theme of youthful revolt.&nbsp;...The script has the expert blend of heightened reality and lyricism enforced by the brilliant direction and the playing of a cast of unknowns."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=11 December 1968 |title=If.... |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1505810185 |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |volume=253 |issue=4 |pages=30 |id={{ProQuest|1505810185}} |via=ProQuest}}</ref>

''The [[Radio Times]] Guide to Films'' gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "With its surrealistic elements, it was something of a departure for ''[[This Sporting Life]]'' [1963] director Lindsay Anderson, but he succeeds in both capturing the atmosphere and absurdities of public school life and investing the satire with plenty of venom. Malcolm McDowell gives a blistering performance in what is a key film in British cinema history."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Radio Times Guide to Films |publisher=[[Immediate Media Company]] |year=2017 |isbn=9780992936440 |edition=18th |location=London |pages=452}}</ref>

[[Leslie Halliwell]], dissenting from the general praise for the film, wrote that "Allegorical treatment of school life with much fashionable emphasis on obscure narrative, clever cutting, variety of pace, even an unaccountable changing from colour to monochrome and vice versa. Intelligence is clearly at work, but it seems to have suffered from undigested gobs of [[Harold Pinter|Pinter]], and the film as a whole makes no discernible point."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halliwell |first=Leslie |title=Halliwell's Film Guide |publisher=Paladin |year=1989 |isbn=0586088946 |edition=7th |location=London |pages=594}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds a 90% approval rating based on 49 reviews, with an average score of 7.9/10. According to the site's critical consensus, "Incendiary, subversive, and darkly humorous, ''If....'' is a landmark of British countercultural cinema."<ref>{{Cite web |title=If.... (2009) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/if1968 |access-date=8 July 2022 |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |work=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]}}</ref>

===Accolades===
''If....'' won the [[Palme d'Or#Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (1964–1974)|Palme d'Or]] at the [[1969 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{Cite web |title=Festival de Cannes: IF |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2527/year/1969.html |access-date=6 April 2009 |website=festival-cannes.com |archive-date=18 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118160500/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2527/year/1969.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1999, the [[British Film Institute]] named it the [[BFI Top 100 British films|12th greatest British film of the 20th century]]; in 2004, the magazine ''[[Total Film]]'' named it the 16th greatest British film of all time. In 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for ''Time Out'' magazine ranked it the 9th best British film ever.<ref>[https://www.timeout.com/london/film/100-best-british-films#tab_panel_4 "The 100 best British films"]. ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]''. Retrieved 24 October 2017.<!-- As of 16 April 2024, this link leads to an article dated 12 July 2023 that does not say anything about 2017. However, it does identify this film at #9 and does say "We spoke to over 150 movie experts" and "we surveyed a diverse array of actors, directors, writers, producers, critics and industry heavyweights, from ...". --></ref>

===McDowell's casting in ''A Clockwork Orange''===
McDowell's performance in ''If....'' caught the attention of [[Stanley Kubrick]], who subsequently cast him in his 1971 film adaptation of [[Anthony Burgess]]'s ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]''.<ref name="Hughes2013">{{Cite book |last=David Hughes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zf9BYv5DiCwC&pg=PT118 |title=The Complete Kubrick |date=31 May 2013 |publisher=Ebury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4481-3321-5 |page=118}}</ref> McDowell used his performance in ''If....'' in his inspiration for the ''Clockwork Orange'' protagonist, Alexander DeLarge. Having been given the script by Kubrick, McDowell was unsure how he should play the part of Alex, and so he contacted Lindsay Anderson, asking for advice. McDowell relates the story:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/interviews/mcdowell.html|title=Malcolm McDowell|date=7 November 2004|author=Ryan, Paul|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121175939/http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/interviews/mcdowell.html|archivedate=21 November 2008}}</ref>

<blockquote>Anyway, he said 'Malcolm, this is how you play the part: there is a scene of you, a close-up in ''If....'', where you open the doors to the gymnasium, to be beaten. You get a close-up.' I said 'that's right.' He said 'do you remember...' I said 'yes. I smiled.' He said 'that's right. You gave them that smile. That sort of ironic smile,' he said 'and that's how you play Alex.' And I went 'my god, that's brilliant. That's brilliant.' That's all I needed and that was enough, and that is a brilliant piece of direction for an actor.</blockquote>

==Sequels==
''If....'' is the first film in the [[Mick Travis Trilogy]], all starring Malcolm McDowell as everyman character Mick Travis, followed by ''[[O Lucky Man!]]'' (1973) and finally ''[[Britannia Hospital]]'' (1982).

The two sequels do not follow the same continuity of the first film, and have little in common other than the main character of Mick Travis and several identically named characters in similar roles (on the commentary track for ''O Lucky Man!'', Malcolm McDowell refers to it as a "so-called trilogy").{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} 

At the time of Anderson's death he had completed a final draft of a proper sequel to ''If....'', but it was never made. The sequel takes place during a Founders' Day celebration at which many of the characters reunite. Mick Travis is now an Oscar-nominated movie star, eschewing England for Hollywood. Wallace is a military major who has lost his arm, Johnny is a clergyman, and Rowntree is the Minister of War. In the script, Rowntree is kidnapped by a group of anti-war students and saved by Mick and his gang, though not before Mick crucifies Rowntree with a large nail through his palm.<ref>Sutton 97–102.</ref>

==See also==
* [[BFI Top 100 British films]]
* [[List of cult films]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite book |last=Lambert |first=Gavin |url=https://archive.org/details/mainlyaboutlinds00lamb/page/384 |title=Mainly About Lindsay Anderson |publisher=Knopf |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-679-44598-2 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/mainlyaboutlinds00lamb/page/384 384] |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sherwin |first=David |title=if.... A film by Lindsay Anderson and David Sherwin. [Screenplay by David Sherwin] |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1969 |isbn=978-0-671-20451-8 |location=New York |page=167}}
* {{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Lindsay |title=Never Apologise: The Collected Writings of Lindsay Anderson |publisher=Plexus Publishing Ltd |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-85965-317-6 |editor-last=Ryan, Paul |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Lindsay |title=Lindsay Anderson: Diaries |publisher=Methuen Pub Ltd |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-413-77397-5 |editor-last=Sutton, Paul |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sinker |first=Mark |title=if.... |publisher=British Film Institute |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84457-040-9 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sutton |first=Paul |title=if....: Turner Classic Movies British Film Guide (Turner Classic Movies British Film Guides) |publisher=I. B. Tauris |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-85043-672-0 |location=London}}

===Further reading===
* Catterall, Ali; and Wells, Simon (2001). ''Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since The Sixties''. London: Fourth Estate. {{ISBN|978-0-00-714554-6}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{tcmdb title}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|title=If...}}
*[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/488-if-school-days ''If....: School Days''] an essay by [[David Ehrenstein]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]

{{Mick Travis}}
{{Lindsay Anderson}}
{{Palme d'Or 1960–1979|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''If....''}}

[[Category:1968 films]]
[[Category:1960s coming-of-age drama films]]
[[Category:1968 drama films]]
[[Category:1960s high school films]]
[[Category:1968 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:1960s teen drama films]]
[[Category:British coming-of-age drama films]]
[[Category:British high school films]]
[[Category:British LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:British satirical films]]
[[Category:British teen drama films]]
[[Category:Films about school violence]]
[[Category:Films directed by Lindsay Anderson]]
[[Category:Films partially in color]]
[[Category:Films scored by Marc Wilkinson]]
[[Category:Films set in England]]
[[Category:Films shot in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Films shot in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Latin-language films]]
[[Category:Palme d'Or winners]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:Surrealist films]]
[[Category:Films set in boarding schools]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s British films]]