Morrissey's influences

A sound sample of kids arguing can be heard at the beginning of Morrissey's song "Shame Is The Name".

Accattone, the main character of this film, is mentioned in Morrissey's "You Have Killed Me".

Morrissey used 'Alf Button' as a pseudonym at some point.

The line "I've seen this happen in other people's lives and now it's happening in ours" in this movie was adapted by Morrissey for the Smiths'"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore".

This is a likely inspiration for the title of Morrissey's "Angel, Angel Down We Go Together"

In an interview broadcast in August 2006 on France's Canal Plus television channel Morrissey mentionned Jean-Luc Godard's "Bande à part" positively. He is particularly a fan of actor Claude Brasseur who has a role in this movie.
One of the first lines in the English translation of this movie is "The kid's a looker", which Morrissey has recycled as a title for one of his songs.

This film was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourites in article "Headful Of Heroes: Back Row" printed in the 16 September 1989 issue of the NME.
Every night on the 1995 Boxers tour Morrissey would use a tambourine with something written on it, and then throw it into the audience. On most nights, the words on the tambourine were "Self! Self! Self!", something shouted from one of this film's main characters to another.

Morrissey named one of the songs appearing on his "Vauxhall & I" album "Billy Budd". The main role in this movie was played by Terence Stamp, one of Morrissey's favourite actors. This may lead us to believe that this film might have inspired Morrissey more than the Herman Melville novel from which it was adapted, but then Melville also has a short story titled "John Marr, Sailor". One way or another it has been speculated that the Billy Budd Morrissey is thinking about is Johnny Marr, a theory backed by the "12 years on" line in the song.

It is generally assumed that this movie or the Keith Waterhouse book from which it was adapted inspired the lyrics of "William It Was Really Nothing".
The Smiths' "Frankly Mr. Shankly" is based on a scene from this movie featuring the main character giving his notice to the poetry-writing and undertaker Mr. Shadrack.
The line "Let's go for a walk where it's quiet" has been reused in the Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead".
The line "...struggled valiantly to combat ignorance and disease" was recycled in "Vicar In A Tutu".
The character called Stamp exclaims at some point "Borstal, here we come!" which very likely inspired the title of the Smiths album "Strangeways Here We Come".
Given its subject it has been speculated that the movie may also have inspired the songs "London" (train dock scene), "Cemetry Gates" (graveyard scene) and "Ordinary Boys" ("nobody but themselves").
This movie was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourites in a feature titled "Sound and Vision" printed in the March 1993 issue of Movieline.

The soundtrack from this movie could be heard before or after live gigs on the 1995 Outside tour.
On a side note Jarman did the videos for the Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead", "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out " and "Panic".

This post-war British film was mentioned at some point by Morrissey as one of his favourites. (source needed)
Actor Patric Doonan who is mentioned in Morrissey's "Now My Heart Is Full" plays in this movie.
According to biography Len Brown, Morrissey asked for the rights to have excerpts of this movie used for the video of his "Hold On To Your Friends" single, but was denied permission by actor Dirk Bogarde.
Morrissey's version of the classic "Moonriver" features a sample of this film's character Diana Lewis (played by Peggy Evans) sobbing.

Following the death of Katrin Cartlidge in 2002 Morrissey dedicated "Late Night, Maudlin Street" to her on two consecutive London dates (17 September and 18 September). On the latter date he actually said: "Last night I dedicated this next song to the actor Katrin Cartlidge who died on September the 7th aged 41. She made some great films: 'Breaking The Waves', 'Career Girls', 'Naked' and... wherever she is, I hope she's happy..."

This movie based on the Graham Greene book was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourites in a feature titled "Sound and Vision" printed in the March 1993 issue of Movieline.
Morrissey (source unknown): "I've watched this film 200 times without once stopping to poach an egg."

This film was mentioned alongside nine others in "Portrait Of The Artist As A Consumer", a list of Morrissey's favourite films, symbolists, records and books published in the 17 September 1983 issue of the NME.

This film was mentioned alongside nine others in "Portrait Of The Artist As A Consumer", a list of Morrissey's favourite films, symbolists, records and books published in the 17 September 1983 issue of the NME.

In an interview published in Hot Press magazine in June 2008 Morrissey said "I like the film history of Los Angeles, and I'm constantly searching for the smogginess and dim-light of those old films... Susan Hayward in Smash-Up, or Susan Hayward in I Want To Live... or anything starring Richard Conte, John Garfield, Dana Andrews, Kirk Douglas... or Barbara Stanwick dumping the body on the railroad tracks... Build My Gallows High, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly... things like that."

In post-tour notes published on to the True-To-You website in September 2006 Morrissey wrote: "In Iceland I saw the film 'Capote' and, like everybody else, my jaw dropped at the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I think it is somewhat implausible though that Capote would be quite so casually accepted by the hardened natures of Dick and Perry, especially in view of Capote's bubblegum lisp. However, don't make fun of Truman's voice. It's easy to arrange a story into loving myth once all the central characters are dead, and I'm not even sure if Truman was a writer at all, or just someone who sneaked around and watched. But he was funny."

Following the death of Katrin Cartlidge in 2002 Morrissey dedicated "Late Night, Maudlin Street" to her on two consecutive London dates (17 September and 18 September). On the latter date he actually said: "Last night I dedicated this next song to the actor Katrin Cartlidge who died on September the 7th aged 41. She made some great films: 'Breaking The Waves', 'Career Girls', 'Naked' and... wherever she is, I hope she's happy..."

A scene from this film showing people fighting over a bag was shown amongst other videos before Morrissey shows on the first two American legs of the Greatest Hits tour.
Morrissey would often drop the name of the London suburb Sidcup on stage and in interviews in 2008. In doing this he was perpetuating a running gag from this film.

Morrissey has been known to use the name Talbot Rothwell as a pseudonym. Rothwell was a screenwriter on some Carry On films.
The 'actors and actresses' section of these files features many Carry On... regular actors.
The campy "Oooh, I say" in the Smiths' "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" is a Carry On... film dialogue staple.
One character in "Carry On Up Pompeii" quips "Now I know how Joan of Arc felt", a line Morrissey used in "Bigmouth Strikes Again".
In an interview published in the NME in July 1986, Morrissey said "There were 27 films made in all and at least six of them are high art. They finished artistically in '68 but it went on, I think, to '76 or '78. When you think of Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims, Sid James... the wealth of talent!"

Carry On Abroad:

Scenes of Charles Hawtrey from this movie are seen in Morrissey's video for the song "Everyday Is Like Sunday".

It is generally assumed that this movie might have inspired the Smiths' "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" ("Anthony said to Cleopatra...") but there isn't any evidence to that effect. Despite what Smiths biographer Johnny Rogan wrote, Sid James who plays the role of Mark Antony is never seen opening a crate of ale or saying 'Oohh I say'.
However at some point into the movie actor Charles Hawtrey mutters the words "stop me if you've heard this before". Because Hawtrey is known as one of Morrissey favourite actors, it can be speculated that those words have been taken on loan by Morrissey.
The film, like many other ones in the Carry On series, does features Morrissey favourites Kenneth Williams and Joan Sims

"The Ghost Of Troubled Joe" line from the song "A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours" is supposedly a reference to this movie, although this has not been confirmed.
The film, like many other ones in the Carry On series, does features Morrissey favourites Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey.

The name of the problem school in this movie is Maudlin Street School, which probably inspired Morrissey for the title of "Late Night, Maudlin Street".
The film, like many other ones in the Carry On series, does features Morrissey favourites Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques and Charles Hawtrey.

A still of Billie Whitelaw from this movie was used for the artwork of the "William It Was Really Nothing" single re-issue.
The movie was adapted from a book written by Shelagh Delaney, one of Morrissey's favourite authors.
Albert Finney not only directs this film, he also plays its main character. He is also one of Morrissey's favourite actors.
The movie also stars Yootha Joyce who was featured on the cover of the Smiths' "Ask" single (although the artwork of the latter single was not taken from this movie).
A scene from this movie takes place in Newport Pagnell services which were mentioned by Morrissey in the song "Is It Really So Strange?".
The movie was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourites in a feature titled "Sound and Vision" printed in the March 1993 issue of Movieline.

This film was mentioned alongside nine others in "Portrait Of The Artist As A Consumer", a list of Morrissey's favourite films, symbolists, records and books published in the 17 September 1983 issue of the NME

According to Smiths biographer Johnny Rogan, Morrissey was impressed by this movie.

The first line heard on Morrissey's "Maladjusted", also cited in the album's booklet, is a sample taken from this movie. The voice is that of Anthony Newley, one of Morrissey's favourite actors.
Actor Patric Doonan who is mentioned in Morrissey's "Now My Heart Is Full" played a minor role in this movie.
In an interview published in the January 1998 issue of Pop magazine Morrissey said: "It's actually not a very good movie although it is written by Bryan Forbes. (...) It's just one of those old films that gives us wonderful insight to merry old England."

A still (not from the film but probably a publicity shot) of Terence Stamp graced the cover of the Smiths' "What Difference Does It Make?" single.
The character Stamp plays does say at one point "What differences does a few specimens make (to an entire species)?", an extended tenuous reference.
The line "Take me and mount me like a butterfly" is also found in the Smiths' "Reel Around The Fountain".
The film features the line "We all want the things we can't have" which might have inspired Morrissey for the similar one in "I Want The One I Can't Have".
This was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourite movies in a feature titled "Sound and Vision" published in the March 1993 issue of Movieline.
The film features both lines "Put your arms around me" and "I won't tell anybody", just like Morrissey's "Tomorrow".

This was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourite movies in a feature titled "Sound and Vision" published in the March 1993 issue of Movieline.
The film stars Diana Dors and Petula Clark, two singers appearing in the list of Morrissey's favourite music.

A still of Sean Barrett from this film was used as the artwork for the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now" single

In a private letter to penpal Robert Mackie from 1981 (since leaked to fans and on the internet), Morrissey wrote "'East Of Eden' is a wonderful film. My ambition is to track down Richard Davalos (who played Aron, the angelic brother) and interview him".
A photo of actor Richard Davalos taken during the filming of this movie was used for the artwork of the Smiths' "Strangeways Here We Come" album.
James Dean utters the question "Can you look at the truth?" in "East Of Eden", a tenuous connection to Morrissey's "Sing Your Life".
A still from this movie showing Richard Davalos and James Dean's hand was used for the Sire "Best...I" and "Best...II" compilation albums.
An 'East Of Eden' screen test of James Dean and Richard Davalos was shown between opening act and Morrissey on live dates from the tail end of the Tour Of The Tormentors MMVI and the Greatest Hits tour of 2007.

The sample heard at the end of Morrissey's "The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Pupils" (or perhaps in a demo from the 1994 Miraval sessions) was lifted from this film.

Morrissey in an interview from 1991 (source unknown): "The first time I saw The Elephant Man, just the introduction made me cry. It was so powerful, and what followed was equally powerful, but I was really taken aback by the intro... I admire people who skate close to the edge."

A cropped still from this film was used for the artwork on the Smiths' "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" single. The full uncropped photograph also shows a woman holding the child. It's safe to assume that Morrissey didn't choose the photo because he was a fan of the film.
The child's photo was reused as a stage backdrop for Morrissey 1988 concert in Wolverhampton. View in situ.

Actress Marjorie Rhodes was mentioned by Morrissey in 1985's Meat Is Murder tour programme as one of his favourite actresses, particularly for her performance in "The Family Way".
A still of Avril Angers from this movie was used for the artwork of the Smiths' "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" single.
A still of Murray Head from this film was used for the artwork of the Smiths' "Stop Me If You Think You're Heard This One Before" single.
The film was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourites in a feature titled "Headful Of Heroes: Back Row" printed in the 16 September 1989 issue of the NME.
The word "back-scrubber" and the line "I just want to see the girl happy" are both heard in this film. They may or may not have been in Morrissey's mind when he wrote the lyrics for, respectively, "Half A Person" and "I Just Want To See The Boy Happy".

This movie was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourites in a feature titled "Sound and Vision" published in the March 1993 issue of Movieline.

A cropped still of actor Joe Dallessandro from Andy Warhol's "Flesh" was used for the artwork of the Smiths' debut album.
On a side note, Morrissey mentioned the film's director Paul Morrissey in his book titled The New York Dolls.

In this film the character played by Alan Bates (who also plays in quite a few other films Morrissey loves) says "I don't think I've cried since I fell off the seat of my bicycle onto the crossbar when I was 8". This may have been reused by Morrissey in similar form in the song "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before".

It has been speculated that because this movie features a boxer character who has an attendant called Bunny, there might be a connection with Morrissey's "Now My Heart Is Full", a song featuring the words "...Bunny I loved you" and written at a time when Morrissey was infatuated with boxing.

According to Smiths biographer Johnny Rogan, Morrissey once said that this was the most compelling film he had ever seen.

Actress Margaret Rutherford was mentioned by Morrissey in 1985's Meat Is Murder tour programme as one of his favourite actresses, particularly for her role in this film.
This film was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourites in a feature titled "Headful Of Heroes: Back Row" printed in the 16 September 1989 issue of the NME.
At some point in this film a character says "We have a bond of trust here at Nutbourne, the boys and I, which is never abused", a line which may have inspired Morrissey when he wrote "Hold On To your Friends".

This was mentioned by Morrissey to French magazine Les Inrockuptibles in 2004 as one of his favourite films at the time.
In a Q&A session published on the True-To-You website in December 2005, Morrissey was asked about his favourite films: "My favourite in the last few years has been Late Marriage starring Lior Ashkenazi. It's one of those rare films wherein the entire cast is excellent, and the film is powerful without one single special effect or any sound trickery."

The words "Hindley wakes" in the Smiths song "Suffer Little Children" are probably a pun on the title of this movie. If so, it is not known which of the three versions of the movie (1927, 1931 or 1952) Morrissey saw.

This film was mentioned alongside nine others in "Portrait Of The Artist As A Consumer", a list of Morrissey's favourite films, symbolists, records and books published in the 17 September 1983 issue of the NME.
Actor Charles Laughton was mentioned by Morrissey in 1985's Meat Is Murder tour programme as his favourite actor, particularly for his performance in Hobson's Choice.
The sound of a brass band heard during a scene in this movie was sampled on the intro of the Smiths' "Sheila Take A Bow".
"Beware the wrath to come", the etching found between the run out grooves of the UK vinyl pressings of the Smiths' "Bigmouth Strikes Again" single, are words found on a banner being paraded during the scene featuring the previously mentioned sample.
This film was mentioned by Morrissey as one of his favourites in article "Headful Of Heroes: Back Row" printed in the 16 September 1989 issue of the NME.

In a Q&A published on the True-To-You website in June 2007 Morrissey said of the artwork for the album "Ringleader Of The Tormentors": "There is an American film from 1946 called 'Humoresque' in which Oscar Levant holds up a copy of a magazine with John Garfield on the front playing the violin, as he does throughout the film. I thought the Garfield picture was so touching, so I tried to copy it."

A still of Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter in a pool was used as a stage backdrop on the "Maladjusted" tour. The image itself was not seen in the movie, it is from a promotional photo shoot. The image was also put on t-shirts sold at the merchandise stall on that tour.

A still of Alain Delon was used for the artwork of the Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead" album.

This was mentioned by Morrissey as as one of his favourite movies in a feature titled "Sound and Vision" published in the March 1993 issue of Movieline.

A still from this documentary was used for the artwork of the Smiths' "Meat Is Murder" album. The message on the soldier's helmet was changed from "make war not love" to the name of the album.

The sampled voice intoning "what's your name?" heard at the end of Morrissey's song "Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning" belongs to Kay Walsh and is a line of dialogue taken from this film.