The Young Ones (1961)

I went to see this movie back in 1961 when it was first released, and I saw it at a special Midnight Matinée with Cliff Richard on stage in person at the end of the film. He was also in the lobby afterwards. A pleasant enough musical, the title song is sung at Ruisip Lido which was a popular summer venue in the 1960's. It is still there (2014)but swimming is no longer allowed. The theater where the young ones put on their show really was the Finsbury Park Empire which was designed by Frank Matcham a famous British theater architect,the building was standing empty having closed in 1960, the theater was demolished in 1965.So if you are into old theatres the movie serves as a reminder of that building. Some of the dance routines remind one of West Side Story. Although the film was in Cinemascope ratio it did not have stereo sound which is a pity for a musical. Robert Morley plays the part of Cliffs father well and it is fun to see Robert doing a dance routine near the end of the movie. If you like musicals you will probably enjoy this film as long as you do not expect it to be like a big Hollywood production.

When I was a teenager in the early sixties I thought this film was one of the best I had ever seen. I made a point of seeing it whenever it came to the local cinema - I think I even bought the LP of the soundtrack. Fast forward to today and I am watching it now - terribly dated and cheesy in the extreme. Whoever thought of putting a pop singer who is possibly the worst mover with no real sense of rhythm in a dance movie needs their bumps reading. Mind you the movie was a huge success in the UK - don't know what the USA audience made of it. Cliff Richards' supporting cast are about as good as the can be , making Cliff look a lot better than he is/was. "Why don't we do the show right here" ("in this barn"was not needed here) is the tested and tried macguffin here and it works pretty well. At least it did when I was 13/14 and knew no better

"The Young Ones"seem to have been 30 years old at birth.Led by "The Mild One " himself - Mr C.Richard - they are clean,polite,and,apart from a token cockney or two,remarkably well - spoken.They all overact like mad and none of them can dance for toffee.Not surprisingly then,the movie is very bad.The dance numbers are a straight rip - off from "West Side Story"so blatant I swear I could see one or two of them blushing.The musical arrangements should have sent Mr L.Bernstein reaching for the phone to his lawyer,but somehow I doubt if he ever got around to watching this one. There is note a single note of rock 'n' roll to be heard in its whole length despite it often being described as a "Rock 'n' Roll Musical. The estimable Mr Stanley Black was the MD.Here was a man with the mindset - not surprisingly - of a Dance Band Leader.His orchestrations, no doubt played by moonlighting British jazzers,could have come from a Glenn Miller musical.Was this really the music young people danced to in 1961?No.They liked Trad Jazz,Acker Bilk,Chris Barber,or proper rock 'n' roll like Gene Vincent,Jerry Lee and Elvis.Cliff and the Shads were all right for smooching to but that was about it. I hesitate to mention Miss Cordeau whose main assetts were clearly displayed,but they didn't include acting or singing. Mr Melvyn Hayes with his Italian suit and one of those handkerchiefs that consisted of a small piece of linen sewed onto a card to be inserted in one's top pocket,looks fairly daring with his dyed hair and slightly camp persona,but,rather boringly turns out to be one of the boys after all. Mr Robert Morley gives full rein to his customary over - acting,treating each line like a polished gem from the pen of Oscar Wilde and generally behaving like a spoiled ageing fat baby wailing for its rusks. The movie is essentially a Mickey Rooney musical revamped.However,the downside that clearly never occurred to its producers ,was that Mr Rooney could sing and dance brilliantly,had energy and talent to spare and,if necessary,could carry a movie single - handedly. Unfortunately none of these attributes applied to Mr Richard who possessed a small,plaintive voice,a sweet innocent face and two left feet.Er,that's about it really. Unlike many films from my youth,"The young ones" has not got better with age.It really is that bad.

... The Shadows come off best here with their few lines and great instrumentals undermining the potential datedness of pop stars' movie appearances. However Cliff really rocks and even if the cinematic techniques would be bettered in the follow-up Summer Holiday, the music is just superb.The basic plot of this is so similar to The Blues Brothers it's uncanny. I should be very surprised if John Landis and Dan Aykroyd hadn't seen The Young Ones.Forget about Grazina Frame's dubbed voice, forget about the square old pop played by Robert Morley, and remember the great songs and the unbelievably handsome Cliff!