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The introduction of decimalisation on 15 February 1971 marked the beginning
of the end for guineas, ten-bob notes, half-crowns and those chunky brass
threepenny bits. But the changeover to the supposedly simplified system, based
on 100 new pence in a pound rather than 20 shillings to the pound, was fraught
with much confusion for many. The transfer took the Decimal Currency Board five
years to plan and an 18-month period of dual pricing was decreed to allow people
time to adjust to the new system.
Centring around the Collins family, who occupy a flat on the 13th floor of a
London high-rise, this film breaks no conventions in its depiction of the varying
degrees of understanding and acceptance of the currency revolution by different
generations. For the teenage son, Peter, with his youthful voracity for change
and an aptitude for maths, the adjustment is painless. However, old habits die
hard for Granny Collins, (played by Doris Hare of On the Buses (ITV, 1969-73)
fame), and the notion of a floating decimal point proves somewhat impenetrable.
The film draws heavily on the tools of the TV sitcom to disguise its
primarily instructive function, the juxtaposition of conflicting
generational attitudes being a stalwart of this genre, as exemplified by Steptoe
and Son (BBC, 1962-74). The well-crafted humour reaches surreal heights when
Granny's mounting anxiety culminates in a nightmare involving a milkman and
decimal bullets being fired at her from all sides. The well-scripted dialogue
tends towards the naturalistic rather than the expositional, lending dramatic
fluidity which is further reinforced by a strong narrative framework driven by
the central premise: will Granny Collins ever get the point?
Replete with tan and beige-clad living-rooms; mum speaking through the
kitchen hatch; false eyelashes in the cornflakes; elevated hem-lines and the
signature milkman joke, for today's audience the film is a valuable reference
for everyday style and attitudes of the early 1970s.
Katy McGahan
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1. Nightmare (0:51)
