In October 1971, the award-winning film The Go-Between was given a royal screening at the old ABC cinema on Prince of Wales Road, with Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother in attendance.
A staggering 1,300 people paying up to £10 each turned out for the charity premiere and over £2,000 was raised for charities the Friends of Norfolk Churches and the Council for the Protection of Rural England.
Special guests at the premiere included the author of the book on which the film was based, L. P. Hartley, screenwriter Harold Pinter, and Bernard Delfont, chairman of the Associated British Picture Corporation. The film was shot almost entirely on location in Hickling Broad, Heydon, Thornage, Melton Constable, and Norwich, as well as other locations in the region.
In Norwich, the crew filmed in locations including Tombland, the cathedral, the Maid's Head and Thorpe Station.
Local people flocked to try their luck at starring in the film and around 200 were employed as extras on the set.
One of those turned down was a young Stephen Fry, who cycled to the set in the hope of being in the film, but had no luck.
The Go-Between brought the beauty of Norfolk to a global audience, with the film winning the highest distinction at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, the Palm d'Or award.
Dr Melanie Williams, a lecturer in film studies at the University of East Anglia, described The Go-Between as 'a very international film, yet very English in its subject matter and setting'.
She added: 'The landscapes look wonderful in the film and it is interesting how these local scenes had an international audience.'
Dr Williams said the fact that it was a royal premier and not just a premier means it would have been 'quite a big deal' for Norwich.
She added that 'literary fidelity' as much as the picturesque locations was key to influencing where the film was shot.
In her opinion, the most quintessentially Norfolk scene in the film is one filmed on the Broads.
'There's an excursion and a picnic where some of the characters go swimming in the water,' she added. 'That's the most characteristically Norfolk landscape.'
The film is set in the summer of 1900 and tells the story of a young boy called Leo, who goes to stay with a wealthy classmate, Marcus, at his luxurious home in rural Norfolk. He ends up acting as a go-between, carrying messages between two ill-fated lovers played by Alan Bates and Julie Christie.
Regarding the successful Alan Partridge Twitter campaign Dr Williams added: 'It's almost as if the idea of it being a joke against Norfolk has been turned on its head and people are using it as a source of pride.'
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