THE PARTY’S OVER

GB
1965
1hr 34mins
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Oliver Reed and Ann Lynn

An enigmatic young American girl falls in with a group of Chelsea beatniks but when her fiancé arrives from the States, he finds her dead

Although filmed in 1963 this drama was censored in the UK over scenes of implied necrophilia, which delayed its release until 1965. It features some excellent scenes at the end that were filmed at a strangely quiet London Waterloo station. Plenty of coaching stock, parcels vans and four-wheeled vans are present, and in one scene there is a good glimpse of Bulleid ‘Merchant Navy’ Class 4-6-2 No.35022 Holland America Line reversing stock out of the platform. This is a loco that is now preserved.

Porters hard at work on the platforms at Waterloo
A coffin is loaded onto the train to begin its final journey back to the United States
Oliver Reed walks nonchalantly down the platform at Waterloo, hands in pockets, cigarette on the go. In the background ‘Merchant Navy’ No.35022 Holland America Line is reversing its stock out of the platform. The loco is now preserved and its name, referencing a Dutch Shipping Line, is oddly appropriate given the story centres around a girl from the US.
Eddie Albert and Oliver Reed, with Bulleid BTK coach No.3985 in the platform. No. 3985 (of ‘L’ set 837) was withdrawn in October 1966.
Having left their friends on the platform, Oliver Reed and Ann Lynn walk off back to the concourse together. The sign suggests that the scenes were all filmed around number 15 platform.
A wonderfully evocative shot of an empty platform at Waterloo ends the film