T. Dan Smith: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Utopia (1987)

• 89%
• 1987
• Documentary
• Thriller
• T. Dan Smith
• Dennis Skinner
• Murray Martin

An experimental mix of thriller and documentary, subtitled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Utopia, the film explores the scandal that centred on the 1960s Leader of Newcastle City Council, The Mouth of the Tyne, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment in 1971 for corruption. Undoubtedly a dynamic and visionary politician, Smith handled the Public Relations affairs of architect John Poulson, who won building design contracts by bribing City Councillors. Made over a two year period, in close collaboration with Smith himself, it reveals a complex depth to the man, and raises questions about PR, parliamentary consultancies, and the hidden, informal power structure that ties in businessmen with politicians, both local and national. Two journalists interview Smith and other key players, exploring and interrogating the story of the Trotskyists in Newcastle City Council, the claims of MI5 collusion, cover-up for cabinet ministers and the unseen role of the Privy Council as a power above parliament. Meanwhile, across the city, Jack Cross, a builder, meets with the local Tory MP and the Labour Leader of the Council to try and keep the lid on a scandal that will ruin all of them. The fictional story centres on a high rise block, jerry-built and crumbling after only fifteen years. As this parallel drama of double-dealing and deceit unfolds, it becomes clear that things are little changed since Dan Smith himself enjoyed easy access to the shadowy world of the Establishment's informal and illicit operations. Indeed, Smith makes it clear to the investigating journalists, that in his opinion, what he was imprisoned for has been made easier and become more widespread than ever before.