A DAY AT THE BEACH

The film centres on an irresponsible, aIcoholic father, who takes his six-year-old daughter on a day trip to the seaside, despite the objections of the child's mother. Their day at the beach, marked by overcast skies, is enlivened by the series of meetings man and child have with people along the way: the ice-cream man, the man who rents beach chairs, the couple who own a beach restaurant...
Shot in 1969, the film was "Iost" in Paramount's London vaults for the past two decades, never released and largely forgotten until rediscovered by its director, Simon Hesera. Written after the enormous success of Rosemary's Baby, and based on a short story by the Dutch writer Heere Heresma Polanski originally intended to direct the film himself, but instead gave it to Hesera. The cast, all British actors, includes Peter Sellers, who agreed to play (unpaid) the cameo role of a homosexual boutique owner.

Director: Simon Hesera.
Screenplay: Roman Polanski.
Director of photography: Gene Gutowski.
Art director: Bill Hutchinson.
Editor: Alistair McEntire.
Music: Mort Shuman.
Cast: Mark Bums, Beatrice Edney, Jack MacGowran, Maurice Roeves, Fiona Lewis, Eva Dahibeck, Graham Stark.
Production company: Paramount.
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