Experience Preferred... But Not Essential

Experience Preferred.... But Not Essential is a 1982 British TV film directed by Peter Duffell as part of the First Love series.^[1] It is set in a Welsh hotel in 1962 where Annie, a student, arrives to spend the summer as a waitress.^[2]

Production

Like the other First Love films, Experience preferred.... was shot "in about twenty days for well under £0.5m"^[3] though the overall budget was £505,000.^[4] Goldcrest Films invested £480,000 in it and received £728,000 earning them a profit of £248,000.^[5]

Cast

IMDb lists the full cast.^[6] The BoxOffice review lists those "starring".^[7]

Starring

• Elizabeth Edmonds (actress) as Annie
• Sue Wallace as Mavis
• Ron Bain as Mike

Other cast members

• Geraldine Griffiths as Doreen
• Karen Meagher as Paula
• Maggie Wilkinson as Arlene
• Alun Lewis as Hywel
• Robert Blythe as Ivan
• Roy Heather as Wally
• Peter Doran as Dai
• Arwen Holm as Helen
• Sion Tudor Owen as Nin
• Robert Gwilym as Gareth
• Mostyn Evans as Now
• Paul Haley as Mr. Howard
• Margo Jenkins as Mrs. Howard
• Jerry Brooke as Gaiety M. C.

Reception

Variety said “generally the picture looks a treat”.^[2] Screen International said that UA Classics had great success with Experience Preferred.... But Not Essential in contrast to P'Tang Yang Kipperbang.^[1] In 1984, Gavin Millar said in Sight & Sound that it "had them queueing round the block in New York".^[3] Looking back in 1987, David Rose (interviewed by Nicolas Kent) in Sight & Sound described it as “one of Channel 4’s first big successes in America”.^[8] Rick Marx, writing in BoxOffice, found it "utterly charming" but he found the "Scottish accents ... often almost impossible to interpret".^[7]