A gang of juvenile delinquents tear up post-war London in Cosh Boy, Lewis Gilbert’s (Alfie and The Spy Who Loved Me) energetic X-rated drama, which provides a penetrating portrait of 1950s Britain and its simmering social tensions. Cosh Boy will become the 40th release in the BFI Flipside series, released in a Dual Format Edition with extras including short films by Lewis Gilbert and more.

Roy (James Kenney) is a brash, chain-smoking thug who bullies his friends (including Rene, played by a young Joan Collins) into subservience. He and his gang assault and rob people on the street, but things get increasingly dangerous when their behaviour escalates, with tragic consequences.

Cosh Boy will be released as a Dual Format Edirtion (DVD & Blu-ray) on 20 January 2020 by the BFI at the RRP of £19.99.

Special features:

• US title sequence: The Slasher (1953, 3 mins): extended title sequence from the renamed US release
• The Ten Year Plan (1945, 17 mins): film by Lewis Gilbert featuring Charles Hawtrey
• Johnny on the Run (1953, 68 mins): Lewis Gilbert’s production for the Children’s Film Foundation starring Sydney Tafler (Carve Her Name with Pride) and featuring an appearance by Dad’s Army actor John Laurie
• Harmony Lane (1954, 24 mins): musical comedy directed by Lewis Gilbert
• Teddy Boys (1956, 8 mins): rare television footage of a London Teddy boy out on the town
• Stranger in the City (1961, 22 mins): short film by Robert Hartford-Davis about Soho in the 1960s
• Ian Whittaker: From Master Crook to Cosh Boy (2019, 9 mins): short interview with one of the stars of Cosh Boy
• Image gallery
• First pressing only: Illustrated booklet with new essays by Matthew Coniam, Jenny Hammerton, Richard Falcon and Tony Kinsey; notes on the special features and full film credits

The release will be launched with Flipside at 40 – Special event & discussion, Wednesday 15 January, 18:30, NFT1 at BFI Southbank – special guest actor Caroline Munro
BFI Flipside unearths obscure cinema and TV must-sees, in an ongoing mission to curate an alternative Brit-screen history in deluxe home entertainment editions. This special one-off celebration event will feature rarely-screened shorts and sharp shockers and will be followed by a discussion with Flipside perpetrators Sam Dunn, Jane Giles, William Fowler, Vic Pratt, Jo Botting and Douglas Weir.