Beautiful Thing (film) Beautiful Thing (film) Beautiful Thing is a 1996 British film directed by Hettie MacDonald and released by Channel 4 Films. The screenplay was written by Jonathan Harvey based on his own original play of the same name. The film was originally intended for television broadcast only, but it was so well-received that it was subsequently released in cinemas. The atmosphere of the film is heavily influenced by a soundtrack consisting almost entirely of the music of The Mamas & the Papas and "Mama" Cass Elliot. The story is set and filmed on Thamesmead, a working class area of South East
The Mamas & the Papas sometimes referred to as "Cass, John, Michelle, Dennie", whose names appear above the band's name on the cover, including the unexplained misspelling of Doherty's first name. Recording was reportedly interrupted when Michelle Phillips became indiscreet about her affair with Gene Clark of the Byrds. A liaison the previous year between Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty had been forgiven by her husband John Phillips; Doherty and John Phillips had reconciled and written "I Saw Her Again" about the episode. They later disagreed about how much Doherty contributed to the song. But after Michelle's affair with Clark, John Phillips was determined to