The film follows the fortunes of a 17-year-old, Del and his group of friends. As the film opens four youths are seen breaking into a cafe in Stratford, East London, but they only get away with about ninepence and some cake, and it is clear that they are hardly master criminals. Back at their hut on waste ground they mention Jo, known as 'Bronco Bullfrog', who has just got out of borstal. Once Del and Roy meet Jo in a cafe, they link up with him to carry out a bigger robbery. Meanwhile, Del meets Irene, a friend of a cousin of Chris's and they start a relationship despite the disapproval of Irene's mother and Del's father. The remainder of the film follows Del and Irene as they attempt to escape their dead-end lives.
A 2010 Guardian article noted a story about Princess Anne connected with the film's release. In November 1970, a group of 200 members of the Beaumont Youth Club in Leyton jeered Princess Anne, with some throwing tomatoes, as she was going to see the London premiere of Three Sisters instead of Bronco Bullfrog. A week later, Princess Anne did go to see the latter at the Mile End ABC. Sam Shepherd claims that he was arrested by police for attempting to kiss the princess's hand.
Accolades
The film has been described as "Mod poetry" and a "masterpiece". However, the film became obscure after its cinema run, and was only shown twice on television between 1969 and 2010. In the mid-1980s, the master negative was disposed of in a rubbish skip but was retrieved by an employee of a film laboratory who placed it in an archive.
Home Media
The film has been released in the BFI Flipside series dual format edition, with other films as extras. When submitted for home release, the film was originally given a 12 certificate in 2004 but this was changed to a 15 certificate in 2010. The change is believed to come from the appearance of the taboo wordcunt in graffiti in a very brief clip that the censors could have missed originally. A new HD version of the film opened the ninth East End Film Festival on 22 April 2010, prior to its re-release in summer 2010.
