Glad to see that we can now view the rates for our reviews. Maybe next time Ciao should test the new...
Glad to see that we can now view the rates for our reviews. Maybe next time Ciao should test the new system before installing it?
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I have been a fan of Cliff Richard since he first started making records back on the late 1950's. My mom and dad also liked Cliff; I suppose he was wholesome and not likely to corrupt my young mind! Anyway the upshot of this is that they took me to see his early films and even queued to get tickets to see him in Blackpool one year too, but that's another story altogether!
I didn't get to see Cliff's first two films (Expresso Bongo and Serious Charge) at the cinema as I would have been a bit too young to make sense of them. I was taken to see The Young Ones and then in 1963 we all went to see Summer Holiday.
I am guessing that this is the best known of all Cliff's films and if you were to ask a random member of the general population to name a film starring Cliff Richard this is the one that would be named most often. To be fair, of his musical films, this is the arguably the one with the best music.
As I say I first saw the film at the cinema in 1963 when I was just 8 years old. I have since watched it a few times on the TV and now have the DVD.
The film follows the adventures of a group of four young mechanics who work for London Transport as they go on holiday to tour Europe in one of the red London double decker buses. They are fed up of the rain in England and so they modify a London Transport bus to make it into living accommodation for their holiday and off they go.
On their travels they come across three girls, led by Una Stubbs, whose car has broken down. The girls are singers who are on their way to a gig so the boys offer them a lift. At this point a young boy stowaway also boards the bus.
The film continues following the relationships between the boys and girls starting with a bit of a battle of the sexes but settling down into a happy group all enjoying the journey.
Cliff gets on well with the stowaway finally finding out that 'he' is actually a 'she' and is an American singer (played by Lauri Peters) on the run from her domineering mother.
The film continues as the aforementioned mother sets various traps to discredit the travelers and get her daughter back - each of which fails, of course!
As you might imagine the cast burst into song and dance at every available opportunity with classics like Bachelor Boy, Next Time, Dancing Shoes and of course the title song, Summer Holiday!
Incidentally I use the term 'dance' in its loosest sense where Cliff is concerned! Whatever you might think of his singing I think we can agree that he is definitely not a dancer!
The Shadows also appear here and there in the film to play a few tunes and to accompany Cliff. Their most notable instrumental from the film is Foot Tapper.
There are a few incidents which seem to bear no relation to the plot - for example where Cliff visits a town to ask for some bread and ends up proposing to some elderly spinster by mistake which ends up in a Benny Hill style chase around a park. At least it gave Cliff a chance to sing a couple more songs!
There is another part where Ron Moody appears as a mime artist doing a silent movie scene - cleverly done but why?
The film is basically an innocent musical romp with a traditional happy ending, but I won't tell you what it is and be accused of spoiling it! LOL!
The DVD lasts for 1 hour and 43 minutes and 'contains no material likely to offend or harm'. Unless of course you really don't like Cliff Richard's singing!
Seriously though it is a happy go lucky film that requires no thinking about and should be watched for what it is - a showcase for Cliff and the Shadows music.
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Music / Performing Arts, Comedy - Director: Trevor Nunn, Geoffrey Posner - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, Parental Guidance - Starring: Duncan Preston, Celia Imrie, Julie Walters, Victoria Wood, Jim Broadbent
From the First Kiss to the Last Blush It's the Craziest Riot On Wheels! Borrowing a ... more
double-decker bus for a mobile home four young mechanics search for fun in the sun from London to Athens. Bachelor Boy Cliff Richard dons his dancing shoes and brings...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Borrowing a double decker bus for a mobile home, four young mechanics search for fun in ... more
the sun from London to Athens. Bachelor Boy Cliff Richard dons his dancing shoes and brings a beat to the beach in the breeziest Summer Holiday on record!Featuring ...
Advantages: Well the show is great and the bonus features are quite good Disadvantages: Not a very wide variety of clips shown & its only 90 minutes long
![Summer Holiday (Sing-along) [1963] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78033020.jpg "Summer Holiday (Sing-along) [1963] [DVD]")
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