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Poor Cow Reviews

1967

60
from 1246 members

A young London woman has to cope with poverty and squalor while her husband is in jail. Sadly clutching at any slight hope of happiness, she enters into a promiscuous relationship with his best friend, which ends in heartbreak. Based on the novel by Nell Dunn. Read more

Starring	Carol White, Terence Stamp, John Bindon, Queenie Watts
Director	Ken Loach
Genres	Drama

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Critic's review of Poor Cow
View all critics' reviews (2)
- Television-style fictional documentary determined to rub one's nose in the mire. Innovative and occasionally striking but not very likeable.
- 30886
- - Halliwell's Film Guide
  - 02 Mar 2006 at 15:41
Write your own review »
Most helpful member's review of Poor Cow
View all members' reviews (23)
- - 9
  - 0
  Interesting to see ...
  
  Interesting to see this film again. It stands up very well on it's own, but if you've seen 'Cathy Come Home' (1966 BBC TV) you'll realise ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 28354
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - Tim#26
  - KEYWORTH
  - 20 Feb 2004 at 00:20
Most recent members' reviews of Poor Cow
View all members' reviews (23)
- - 0
  - 0
  Worth it.
  
  This film is magnetising and paints a really honest picture of one woman's life in London. I should imagine that it would have been even more shocking to ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1088260
- - Dacarius
  - 11 reviews
  - 03 Feb 2012 at 11:12
- - 0
  - 0
  a great example of british 'kitchen sink' drama
  
  Its thanks to directors like Ken Loach we have wonderful visual records of our history, particularly that from the poorer side of society. Though very little ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 995531
- - elPatrone
  - 16 reviews
  - Norwich
  - 21 May 2011 at 23:55
- - 5
  - 0
  More complicated than you'd think
  
  The blurb is very misleading, it makes you wonder if the writer saw the film at all. Yes it is about a woman whose husband is sent to prison, and she does take ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 995293
- - a customer
  - 21 May 2011 at 11:04
- - 2
  - 0
  poor cow
  
  I have seen this a couple of times before, so obviously i liked it enough to hire it again. It's sad, touching and funny. Well worth a watch if you like ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 940197
- - daisymaisy
  - 51 reviews
  - Tonbridge
  - 16 Nov 2010 at 21:06
- - 1
  - 0
  Poor Cow
  
  I had forgotten how excellent Poor Cow,wasand how much I felt for Carol White.It was so very much how Fulham used to be in the early 1960`s.Very rough and ready... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 918309
- - miri
  - 1 review
  - bromley
  - 26 Aug 2010 at 18:23
- - 0
  - 0
  A Good Watch
  
  This film really gives you a feel of the sixties due to its realism. I loved the performances but didn't like the abrupt ending much. Still, this film gets ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 901180
- - BeccyMalloi
  - 124 reviews
  - Kersey, Suffolk
  - 25 Jun 2010 at 10:34
- - 0
  - 0
  Warmly nostalgic
  
  I'm going through a phase watching Brit films from the sixties, trying to recover my lost youth I guess.
  
  I enjoyed this film for nostalgic ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 896712
- - soxer
  - 33 reviews
  - Walsall
  - 07 Jun 2010 at 10:40
- - 1
  - 0
  The Underbelly of Swinging Sixties
  
  THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS | Show review anywayHide
  
  The screenplay and the book of 'Poor Cow' were both written by Nell Dunn who also wrote 'Up The Junction'. But 'Poor Cow' is a much ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 865274
- - a customer
  - Staffordshire, England
  - 23 Feb 2010 at 19:48
- - 0
  - 0
  A good start
  
  This was Ken Loach's directorial debut and it showed some of the hallmarks of his future output. He had obviously watched a lot of foreign films, notably ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 708039
- - Cato
  - 591 reviews
  - Lydbury North
  - 13 Feb 2009 at 12:05
- - 1
  - 0
  Cathy Come Home with a gloss
  
  Ken Loach directed both Cathy Come Home and this movie. Both feature Carol White in the lead roles and both focus on a young mother's journey in a rather ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 662833
- - a customer
  - Barry, Wales
  - 22 Nov 2008 at 15:15
View all members' reviews (23)

- - 9
  - 0
  Interesting to see ...
  
  Interesting to see this film again. It stands up very well on it's own, but if you've seen 'Cathy Come Home' (1966 BBC TV) you'll realise ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 28354
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - Tim#26
  - KEYWORTH
  - 20 Feb 2004 at 00:20
- - 5
  - 0
  More complicated than you'd think
  
  The blurb is very misleading, it makes you wonder if the writer saw the film at all. Yes it is about a woman whose husband is sent to prison, and she does take ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 995293
- - a customer
  - 21 May 2011 at 11:04
- - 3
  - 0
  Poor Cow
  
  Carol White, who also starred in Ken Loach's daring expose of social injustice, Cathy Come Home, turns her other cheeks in this story of a lusty, money ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 306860
- - Maryco
  - UK
  - 24 Jul 2004 at 22:15
- - 2
  - 0
  poor cow
  
  I have seen this a couple of times before, so obviously i liked it enough to hire it again. It's sad, touching and funny. Well worth a watch if you like ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 940197
- - daisymaisy
  - 51 reviews
  - Tonbridge
  - 16 Nov 2010 at 21:06
- - 1
  - 0
  Statement of the 60's
  
  A statement of living conditions for a lot of people in 1967. Pre-womens lib. Carol White gives a good performance in this docu-style movie. A movie for those ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 19299
- - Carol Partridge
  - Derby, Uk
  - 23 Sep 2004 at 09:42
- - 1
  - 0
  Gritty
  
  Classic Ken Loach drama with that ring of authenticity to it - anyone with the faintest idea of what ordinary life is like in England will find this rings ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 94484
- - Alex Van de Weyer
  - Tooting, London
  - 20 Apr 2005 at 00:33
- - 1
  - 0
  Cathy Come Home with a gloss
  
  Ken Loach directed both Cathy Come Home and this movie. Both feature Carol White in the lead roles and both focus on a young mother's journey in a rather ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 662833
- - a customer
  - Barry, Wales
  - 22 Nov 2008 at 15:15
- - 1
  - 0
  The Underbelly of Swinging Sixties
  
  THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS | Show review anywayHide
  
  The screenplay and the book of 'Poor Cow' were both written by Nell Dunn who also wrote 'Up The Junction'. But 'Poor Cow' is a much ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 865274
- - a customer
  - Staffordshire, England
  - 23 Feb 2010 at 19:48
- - 1
  - 0
  Poor Cow
  
  I had forgotten how excellent Poor Cow,wasand how much I felt for Carol White.It was so very much how Fulham used to be in the early 1960`s.Very rough and ready... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 918309
- - miri
  - 1 review
  - bromley
  - 26 Aug 2010 at 18:23
- - 0
  - 0
  fabulous docu-drama
  
  I loved this film so much I watched it twice. I found it very moving and evocative of a time past. Carol White is fantastic in the lead role and I found her ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 177440
- - a customer
  - East Sussex
  - 23 Nov 2005 at 11:02

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Critics' reviews
- Television-style fictional documentary determined to rub one's nose in the mire. Innovative and occasionally striking but not very likeable.
- 30886
- - Halliwell's Film Guide
  - 02 Mar 2006 at 15:41
- Not a patch upon Loach's best work, largely because he falls into all the usual traps of kitchen sink realism as he... read more on Time Out
- 44083
- - Time Out
  - 04 Nov 2008 at 00:14

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Buy from Amazon.co.uk

- - Buy
- Poor Cow
  
  A young London woman has to cope with poverty and squalor while her husband is in jail. Sadly clutching at any slight hope of happiness, she enters into a promiscuous relationship with his best friend, which ends in heartbreak. Based on the novel by Nell Dunn....