That'll Be The Day
1973| 1h 31m| IMDb 6.5
That'll Be The Day (1973) is currently streaming in the UK on STUDIOCANAL Presents and STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS. Last updated 20 January 2026.
Jim MacLaine was abandoned by his father when he was young. Later, as a suburban school dropout, Jim leaves home and drifts through a succession of dead-end jobs until he finds an outlet for his frustration in rock 'n' roll. Tossing away the chance of a university education much to the consternation of his mother, alienated MacLaine becomes a lowly deckchair attendant before streetwise friend Mike gets him a job firstly as a barman and then with the fun fair. The initially shy MacLaine quickly becomes a heartless fairground Romeo leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Eventually MacLaine returns home to run the family store and marry his girlfriend, but despite the birth of a son, restless Jim feels the lure of rock ’n’ roll again.
Director: Claude Whatham
