Customer Reviews

Wonderful to Be Young!

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The story is about a group of young people who frequent, and run a youth club. The leader, Nicky (played by Cliff Richard) is a rebellious rock 'n' roll singer while harbouring a dark secret he must keep from the other club members. The youth club land is about to be sold to property developers unless the gang can renew the Lease. The race is on as the gang have to put on a show (secret weapon: The Mystery Singer) to raise enough money to defeat the millionaire developer (A whimsical yet menacing Robert Morley).

To some extent this is a typical vehicle for a pop star, but Cliff acquits himself well and fares better than Elvis did in some of his movies. There is a pretty good soundtrack featuring several great songs written by Cliff Richard's backing group, The Shadows, plus one or two old-fashioned musical numbers.

Cliff Richard charms here as a singer and dancer (he's very good) in this big budget British musical starring Cliff Richard and the Shadows. There are only two rock songs in this movie. The rest of the score consists of Broadway style ballads and group set pieces. Enjoyable. The storyline (wholesome teens try to keep their dance club from being knocked down by a developer) is so old that you can be astounded by its lack of originality but the staging is colorful, fun, lively, and top notch. Think of this as the British "Hairspray." Dancing 4 stars; Songs 3 stars; storyline 2 stars; photography and direction 4 stars.

this movie is the best movie of cliff richard because this is where he started to take off in his career. the music and dance choreography are great. the quality of the dvd is superb. very sharp and crisp color, i could not imagine this old film to be restored in perfect condition as if this was filmed only recently. highly recommended to all cliff richard fans.

I was a 13 year old in Bombay when this flick came out. I didn't realize what a large hit it had been in England until I read the liner notes for the dvd. But Cliff Richard was huge in India and England at the time. The movie was an event. Part MGM style musical, part teenage heartthrob pic. The only real 'rock' performance came in the final scene - "We Say Yeah!" In 1963 this was edgy, rebellious stuff to us and "The Shadows" were right up there with "The Ventures" as an instrumental band. Well produced. Good performance by Robert Morely as the villain who wants to raze the teen club to build a high rise. Brings pre-Beatle era London to life. A fun look back.