Young Cassidy

He's a brawling, sprawling giant - on the make for fame and fortune and then some!

A biographical drama of an ambitious Irish writer navigating poverty, social upheaval, and personal relationships in early 20th-century Dublin, balancing idealism against the cost of artistic success.

In Dublin circa 1911, John Cassidy (Rod Taylor), an impoverished idealist, whose ambitions are restricted by the demands of looking after his family, journeys through the social injustices of Dublin life, involving himself with the rowdy tramway-men strike, dawdling with prostitute Daisy Battles (Julie Christie), and seeking a better life. He falls in love with bookshop assistant Nora (Dame Maggie Smith) who encourages him toward a life of writing. Finding success at the Abbey Theatre, his unorthodox views estrange him from family, friends, and his own past.