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…
as Self
as Self
as Self
as Self
as Self
as Jack Cross
as Councillor Alan Deal
as Jeremy Maudsley-Long
as Steve
as Murray
as Home Secretary
as Councillor Albert
as Councillor Edith
as Newscaster
as Cleaner
as Alan Deal's Wife
as Resident and Paper Seller
