The Knack...and How to Get It

The Knack …and How to Get It is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Richard Lester based on the play by Ann Jellicoe. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival. The film depicts the sexual competition among three roommates — the aggressive, womanizing drummer Tolen , the shy, paranoid schoolteacher Colin , and the neutral artist Tom — when a young woman from out of town, Nancy , enters their London world. Making the film immediately after working with The Beatles on A Hard... Day’s Night and just before Help!, Lester made major changes to the play, adding his own touch through direct address, unexpected oddly-edited sequences, humorous subtitles, and a Greek chorus of disapproving members of "the older generation". Talking about the film in the 1980s, actor Ray Brooks said: Lester himself makes a brief cameo as an annoyed bystander. John Barry contributed the jazzy score which features a memorable organ solo by Alan Haven.
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