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That Sinking Feeling

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That Sinking Feeling

That Sinking Feeling is a 1979 Scottish comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth, his first film as a director. The film is set in his home city of Glasgow (the Calton, Bridgeton and Parkhead areas) in Scotland. The young actors in film were members of the Glasgow Youth Theatre. The film also features Richard Demarco, the Edinburgh gallery owner, playing himself. The four main actors went on to feature in Forsyth's following film Gregory's Girl.

Ronnie, Wal, Andy and Vic are four bored, unemployed teenagers from Glasgow. One day, Ronnie comes up with the idea of stealing stainless steel sinks from a warehouse and selling them. Their plan involves dressing up as women and using a strong tranquiliser ('stop-motion potion') on the driver of a Morton's Rolls bread van.

During the robbery they encounter a ninja style thief who asks to join them. They steal 74 sinks but do not manage to sell many. Richard Demarco, an art gallery owner, buys four in a pile as an artwork at the bargain price of £200.

They still have many to sell, stored in the back of the bread van, when they accidentally take an identical van and end up with a load of doughnuts. Meanwhile, the heavily tranquilised van driver remains in hospital, expected to wake in 2068.

Forsyth said "I couldn't actually afford real actors, and I certainly hadn't had any experience working with them. So I asked the teenagers at a Glasgow community centre if they would appear in my movie at no pay. Actually, I promised them points in the film (a percentage of any profits)."

Filming took place on location around the city of Glasgow; scenes featured locations such as Kelvingrove Park, Dennistoun, Springburn and Bishopbriggs railway stations, Cowcaddens, Sighthill, Whiteinch and Woodside. The area surrounding the Forth and Clyde Canal also featured heavily around Pinkston and Port Dundas. The tower block featured in the film where the main characters live was 31 Ruby Street, Dalmarnock.

Allan Court (which was a building site at the time) in Gardenhall, East Kilbride was also used as a location for the night scene.

The film was released in the United States four years after the United Kingdom, following the success of Gregory's Girl and Local Hero. For the American market, (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) the soundtrack was re-dubbed using more mainstream accents from Edinburgh. The MGM version cost more to re-dub than the entire budget for the film itself.[citation needed]

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