Smashing Time (1967) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

Two young women pursue London success, experience chaotic reversals and unequal fame, then abandon the city together.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Northern Dreams Collapse

Brenda and Yvonne arrive in London expecting fame and fortune. Financial hardship and chaotic café work quickly undermine their optimistic image of the city.

Key Events

• Arrival at St Pancras — Brenda and Yvonne arrive in London seeking fame and fortune. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: St Pancras railway station
• Savings Are Stolen — A tramp robs Brenda, leaving the girls unable to pay for their meals. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: Greasy spoon café
• Café Liquid Chaos — Ketchup is mistaken for washing-up liquid, drenching the café in colored liquids. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: Greasy spoon café
• Wabe Photographs Yvonne — Tom photographs Yvonne and pays her, apparently opening a path toward publicity. Characters: Yvonne, Tom Wabe Location: Carnaby Street

Publicity And Peril

Yvonne's encounter with Tom produces newspaper publicity, but the published photograph mocks her. Their nightclub jobs then lead to Bobby's exploitative pursuit and a frantic escape.

Key Events

• Newspaper Mockery — Brenda discovers that Yvonne's published photograph mocks her as out of fashion. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: London street
• Robot Party Encounter — Brenda confronts Tom at a strange party, where Tom attempts to charm her. Characters: Brenda, Tom Wabe Location: Robot-served party
• Nightclub Referrals — A new flatmate refers the girls for hostess jobs at a nightclub. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: Rooming house
• Bobby Summons Yvonne — Bobby gets Yvonne drunk and takes her to a private apartment. Characters: Yvonne, Bobby Mome-Rath Location: Nightclub
• Apartment Sabotage — Brenda sabotages Bobby's drink and bath while trying to stop the tryst. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne, Bobby Mome-Rath Location: Bobby's apartment
• Supervisor Falls Through — A building supervisor spying through the ceiling falls through, enabling the girls' escape. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne, Bobby Mome-Rath Location: Bobby's apartment
• Nightclub Dismissal — The girls return home and learn that the nightclub has sacked them. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: Rooming house

Jobs That Cannot Last

Brenda manages Charlotte's design shop while Yvonne serves pies at a restaurant. Forced sales, a pie fight, and Charlotte's sudden departure leave both girls unemployed again.

Key Events

• Nightclub Dismissal — The girls return home and learn that the nightclub has sacked them. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: Rooming house
• Brenda Manages Too Much — Charlotte hires Brenda to manage the exclusive shop while she leaves for lunch. Characters: Brenda, Charlotte Brillig Location: Too Much design shop
• Forced Shop Purchases — Brenda forces affluent hangers-on to buy merchandise, rapidly emptying the shop. Characters: Brenda, Charlotte Brillig Location: Too Much design shop
• Lunch With Tom — Tom takes Brenda to lunch at the restaurant where Yvonne serves pies. Characters: Brenda, Tom Wabe, Yvonne Location: Sweeny Todd's restaurant
• Custard Pie Fight — A custard-pie fight spreads from the restaurant into the street, and Yvonne is blamed. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne, Tom Wabe Location: Sweeny Todd's and the street
• Shop Closes Suddenly — Charlotte shuts the business to make an impulse trip to Greece, leaving both girls unemployed. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne, Charlotte Brillig Location: Too Much design shop

Accidental Stardom

A television prank destroys the girls' home, but Yvonne receives a large reimbursement cheque. Her processed single becomes a hit, launching her into sudden fame.

Key Events

• Home Demolished On Television — A television prank show reveals that the girls' rooming house has also been demolished. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: Shop window
• Ten Thousand Pound Prize — Yvonne receives a ten-thousand-pound reimbursement cheque because her name is on the lease. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: Rooming house site
• Yvonne Becomes A Star — Yvonne invests the prize money in a single, which is polished in mixing and becomes a hit. Characters: Yvonne Location: Recording studio and television programs

Fame Divides Them

Brenda becomes Tom's girlfriend and a top model while Yvonne's popularity declines. Their separation culminates in a disastrous tower party before both decide to return home.

Key Events

• Brenda Becomes A Model — Brenda becomes Tom's girlfriend, spends the night on his barge, and rises as a top model. Characters: Brenda, Tom Wabe Location: Tom Wabe's canal barge
• Yvonne Throws The Plate — Yvonne sees Brenda in a Direct Action perfume advertisement and throws a plate at the television. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: Rooming house
• Lonely Tower Party — Yvonne sits alone at her glamorous party while Brenda watches through CCTV and sees Tom arrive. Characters: Yvonne, Brenda, Tom Wabe Location: Top of the Post Office Tower
• Revolving Party Disaster — Yvonne falls into her giant cake, and Brenda turns the restaurant to full speed, disrupting the party. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne, Tom Wabe Location: Revolving restaurant
• Return Home — Brenda and Yvonne walk away in the early morning and decide to return home. Characters: Brenda, Yvonne Location: London streets

Story Breakdown

• London Arrival — Brenda and Yvonne enter London with ambitious expectations that immediately encounter practical hardship.
  • Northern Ambitions — The girls arrive from the North of England seeking fame and fortune.
  • Café Breakdown — Brenda loses her savings and the café washing-up scene becomes chaotic.
• Fashion And Publicity — Yvonne seeks fashionable recognition but receives humiliating publicity from Tom's newspaper photograph.
  • Carnaby Street — Yvonne visits Carnaby Street hoping to attract Tom Wabe's attention.
  • Mocked Photograph — The newspaper presents Yvonne as out of fashion, provoking Brenda's confrontation.
• Nightclub Misadventure — A hostess job exposes Yvonne to Bobby's exploitative pursuit and forces Brenda into a rescue attempt.
  • Bobby's Apartment — Bobby gets Yvonne drunk and takes her to an apartment for one-night encounters.
  • Chaotic Escape — Brenda sabotages the encounter, and the supervisor's fall creates an escape route.
• Unstable Employment — Both girls cycle through precarious jobs that collapse because of impulsive behavior and comic disorder.
  • Too Much Shop — Brenda manages Charlotte's shop and sells merchandise too aggressively.
  • Custard Pie Fight — Yvonne is blamed for the restaurant fight and loses another job.
• Accidental Celebrity — The destruction of the girls' home unexpectedly provides Yvonne with the money to manufacture a pop career.
  • Demolished Home — A television prank show demolishes the girls' rooming house as a joke.
  • Processed Hit — Yvonne's poor live recording is polished through mixing and becomes a major hit.
• Divided Success — Brenda and Yvonne achieve different kinds of fame, and success turns their companionship into resentment.
  • Modeling Rise — Brenda becomes Tom's girlfriend and develops into a top model.
  • Pop Decline — Yvonne's popularity wanes while Brenda appears in a perfume advertisement.
• Tower Party Collapse — The girls' unresolved rivalry erupts at Yvonne's party and ends their London fantasy in public chaos.
  • Cake Humiliation — Yvonne falls into her giant cake while guests enjoy the party.
  • Return Home — Brenda accelerates the revolving restaurant, and both girls later decide to go home.

Directed by

Desmond Davis

Key Cast

• Rita Tushingham — Brenda
• Lynn Redgrave — Yvonne
• Michael York — Tom Wabe
• Anna Quayle — Charlotte Brillig
• Irene Handl — Mrs Gimble