# “The dream has gone”: Every 1960s British movie referenced by Morrissey in The Smiths

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-dream-has-gone-every-1960s-british-movie-referenced-by-morrissey-in-the-smiths/
- Published: 2026-10-26T15:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T08:27:18+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/every-1960s-british-movie-referenced-by-morrissey-in-the-smiths/
- Topics: Entertainment, Film, UK, World

## Key points

- 1960s British cinema shaped several Smiths lyrics.
- A Taste of Honey was a major source.
- The article links songs to films and their dialogue.

## Summary

Morrissey drew on British films and plays from the 1960s when writing lyrics for The Smiths, weaving dialogue and story details into songs. The article argues that cinema was central to the band’s creative world, helping explain the dramatic, socially observant quality of some of their best-known lines.

A Taste of Honey, starring Rita Tushingham, is presented as a major influence: lines from the play appear in ‘This Night Has Opened My Eyes’ and ‘Hand in Glove’. Tushingham’s other films, The Leather Boys and The Knack… and How to Get It, are linked to the ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’ video and ‘Half a Person’; Ken Loach’s Poor Cow is connected to ‘Death of a Disco Dancer’. The article also identifies The Family Way as a source of lyrics and single-cover imagery, though the supplied text ends before giving further examples.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.