The Brylcreem Boys | |
---|---|
Directed by | Terence Ryan |
Produced by | Gabriel Byrne, Jamie Brown |
Written by | Jamie Brown, Terence Ryan |
Starring |
Billy Campbell Angus Macfadyen Jean Butler Gabriel Byrne Joe McGann John Gordon Sinclair |
Music by | Richard Hartley |
Cinematography | Gerry Lively |
Edited by | Emma E. Hickox |
Distributed by | Guerilla Films |
Release date
|
1998 |
Running time
|
124 min. |
Country | Isle of Man |
Language | English |
Budget | $6 mil |
The Brylcreem Boys is a 1998 romantic comedy film set in the Republic of Ireland during the Second World War. The film, which stars Billy Campbell, Angus Macfadyen, Jean Butler and Gabriel Byrne, was directed and co-written by Terence Ryan. The story is set against the extraordinary neutrality arrangements in Ireland during World War II under the government of Éamon de Valera.
The title comes from a popular nickname for the RAF personnel during the period.
In World War II all Allied and Axis service personnel that end up in Ireland are to be interned for the duration of the conflict. Two pilots, Canadian Billy Campbell and Angus Macfadyen of the Luftwaffe, both fall in love with local Irish girl, Jean Butler. The relationship is further complicated by Gabriel Byrne, who plays the unceasingly vigilant internment camp commander.
Although set in Ireland, the film was made on location in the Isle of Man. It was the first major production to use the island since George Formby's No Limit in 1935. The film established the Isle of Man Film Commission.
Casting was by Jo Gilbert.