What a Crazy World

source: What a Crazy World

Wish there'd.been more like it. One of those movies that cheers people up and should not be cut for television. I write with some feEling - I settled down to watch it on London.Live and turned off in disgust when.they cut "Layabouts ' Lament".

In 1961 Michael Carreras took a sabbatical for a couple of years from, literally, his parent company Hammer Films to try his hand at something different. That he certainly did with this breezy little pop musical preserving early sixties London in CinemaScope with current pop idols Joe Brown and Marty Wilde (with Harry H. Corbett ironically playing the heroine's father, since he was on the verge of a lifetime of typecasting as the son in 'Steptoe and Son'). As a friendly nod towards his films for Hammer, Carreras brought along with him dear old Michael Ripper, whose ubiquity in Carreras's productions for Hammer inspired his presence in nine small parts throughout this film as 'The Common Man' (including as a member of the audience watching - what else? - 'The Curse of Frankenstein').

Perfect for those who like to look back at a London in black & white and full of bomb sites. It's the usual working class scenario of bored kids hoping to make it rich with a pop song, and parents in mundane jobs. The film is a good period piece and shows pretty much what the 60s were really like for those who think it was 'swinging' for anyone other than a select few.

I hate to admit this but my mother took me to see this as the cinema back in the day because I liked Freddie and the Dreamers (Well I was only 11 at the time, that's my excuse anyway). I still have the EP of all his songs in the film. I saw it again just recently on Talking Pictures and loved it just as much as I did then. Marty Wilde and Joe Brown whilst not Oscar winning actors put in above average performances for pop stars, Joe is in fact a seriously good musician who could out play Eric Clapton before there was an Eric Clapton. Then there is the sexy Susan Maughan, she of Bobby's Girl fame, doesn't matter she can't act just watching her is enough. Then there is the many faces of Michael Ripper seen playing a multitude of parts. Harry H. (Harold Steptoe) Corbett playing much the same character and Bill (Snudge) Fraser. All my childhood stars in one film. What's not to like? well not much really, OK it's a bit dated but then so are a lot of films of that period, this one was originally a stage musical. Some of the songs are a bit cringe-worthy i.e 'My First Romance' but then we have the title song, Oh What a Family, and 'Layabouts Lament' sung in probably the most UN-PC scene ever. All written by Alan Klein (Not the Beatles manager) who plays one of Mary Wilde's gang. Fab to see London of the sixties, especially the wonderful Denmark Street, soon to be demolished for a yuppie paradise with no traffic or yellow lines. Seeing again brought the sixties back to me, those were the days. I saved it on my hard disc and will watch it again.

OK, it was great to see a very young Joe Brown, Marty Wilde and sexy Susan Maughan but other than that it was SO dated. It is of my period but there is no way I would have paid to go and see this when it was released. I'm sorry, but pop films of this era British or American just look like something the local school threw together with and 8mm cine camera. The only thing I like to watch this type of film for is to see the cars of this period when I bought my first one.

It was Rock Around The Clock that really ignited the craze for rock n roll musically.Most of them made very cheaply and quickly forgettable.This is built round the comment Joe Brown.No actor with an engaging personality.This features both pop stars and experienced actors.The mix works rather well.The music is catchy if unmentionable.There is a lot of location work in sixties London.Also featured are popular entertainments of the sixties.Bingo and ten pin bowling being uses of old cinemas.We also see an extract from The Mummy,a Hammer success of the era.This is no classic but it is an interesting picture of an era now over half a century ago.

Having recently managed to tune in to the Talking Pictures channel, I was delighted to see this film featured. I had seen it before, but a long time ago and could remember little except the title song which was a hit for Joe Brown and The Bruvvers. In reality this is little more than a hastily put together showcase for some of the popular young singing stars of the day. In this instance Joe Brown, Marty Wilde and the GORGEOUS Susan Maughan. Trouble is, the appeal of the film relies more on their popularity, rather than content which follows the old unappreciated-singer-looking-for-a-break scenario.Also by the time this type of film was released, the sixties music scene had moved on rapidly, dating them even at the time. However, like the curate's egg, it is good in parts. Marty Wilde easily out-acts the others as roughneck Herbie Shadbolt. His character looks and sounds convincing. He and his "boys" appear in an early number set in the local Labour Exchange (job centre). And you will rarely see anything more un-PC. The place is crowded with immigrants, many in national costumes and the song bewails the state of the Labour Exchange in having to deal with people who don't speak English. West Indians are depicted dancing to a calypso theme and three characters in coolie hats perform a stereotypical Chinese dance with hands hidden in sleeves and shuffling feet! Apart from the title song most of the others are complete rubbish but we do get to see bits of early sixties London as backdrops and the film has a grittiness not seen in any of Cliff Richard's efforts (apart from Expresso Bongo) The black and white photography makes it more watchable. As does the presence of the many familiar character actors e.g. Michael Robbins, Toni Palmer, Fanny Carby, Harry Locke and, not forgetting the ubiquitous Michael Ripper. In all it is a decent example of the genre and infinitely superior to that contemporary clunker Every Day's a Holiday. Don't watch that one!

From the plot you would expect a potboiler of a film but its stars bring it to life. Harry H. Corbett (AKA Harold Steptoe) and Joe Brown are such likeable characters that you can't help enjoying the movie. Add a live performance from Freddie and the Dreamers and it just can't lose. I watched this black and white film thinking it must have been made in 1959 - 1960 and was somewhat surprised to find it was 1963!

An early Sixties star vehicle for Joe Brown, Marty Wilde and Susan Maughan, What a Crazy World turns out to be rather better than it might have been. As so often happened with musical films of that period, fashions had moved on by the time it was released, with solo singing stars of the late Fifties being supplanted by beat groups, led by the Beatles. The appearance here of the novelty act Freddie and the Dreamers is a harbinger of what was to come. A Hard Day's Night was released only a year later and occupies a completely different world from this film, which must have seemed quaintly old-fashioned to young cinema-goers. However, times have moved on and we can now appreciate WaCW for its virtues, which are many. It's lively, fun, and well shot in B&W CinemaScope, and most if not all of its outdoors scenes were shot in genuine London locations, giving it a feeling of authenticity and avoiding staginess, despite its theatrical origins. It's pretty clear that none of the principals is a trained actor, but in the context of the admittedly hackneyed story this doesn't really matter. Stalwarts of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop (like Harry H. Corbett) provide a steady bedrock for the juvenile leads. There is perhaps a little too much chirpy Cockney on show and, apart from the title number, the songs are not terribly good. Unfortunately, near the beginning of the show there is a jaw-droppingly racist sequence set in a Labour Exchange where it's made clear to the Sixties audience that foreigners (a) talk funny (b) are lazy and (c) are nevertheless after native Brits' jobs. All we can do now is gasp. The print I saw on Talking Pictures TV was in immaculate condition and I expect that it would very good in HD.