Three Hats for Lisa

I saw this movie twenty years ago on TV at 3:00 AM stoned out of my mind with my other stoner friends. This is the strangest piece of 60's crap ever... the plot makes no sense, stoned or not. My only hope was that the old MST-3K show would have picked this one up. There's a lot of really bad gay choreography in it too... the whole thing was filmed outside so they didn't have to make any sets... only really memorable thing was the goofy 60's Carnanby Street clothing, all the pin stripes on the guys and little vinyl stewardess hats on the women... definitely a late night drunk-out-of-your-mind laugh fest.

I'm clean and sober now though...

This film is a dismal attempt to make pop star Joe Brown into a film star.It failed on all counts.You don't expect musicals to have a great story and this film is no exception.However you hope that the music and the dancing will be good.It is difficult to find an adjective to describe just how bad they are.There is not even one musical number that is memorable.The dancing must be amongst the worst ever put on film.The only worthwhile moment is Sid James singing and dancing.He did serve in a concert party in the war.Difficult to realise given his comment character that he was born in South Africa.Seeing London in colour all those years ago is very nostalgic.Finally the process work in the taxi is as amateurish as the rest of the film.

A quickie retread of 'Roman Holiday' and 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' with musical numbers resembling those of a Cliff Richard vehicle (complete with the late Una Stubbs). Not exactly good, but rather charming it offers views of London as it looked in 1965 (complete with the Post Office Tower nearing completion) and the unique spectacle - if this is a recommendation - of Sid James singing and dancing.

I saw this movie on TV about 25 years ago and it stuck in my mind as a great feel good movie and a wonderful representation of 60's London. I can remember some of the songs even now, although I doubt if any have ever been released. There's some brilliant street 'dance' scenes set to the songs and the whole thing moves along with great pace and energy. The main players; Joe Brown, Una Stubbs, Sid James & Sophie Hardy are all excellent and work together well. I notice that Eric Rodgers wrote the music, he of 'Carry On' Fame which explains the compelling soundtrack. I 've not seen this movie since, which I assume means it's not that popular and that's a shame.

Energetic, musical-inspired comedy in which high-born Italian visitor (Hardy) takes a break from the stuffy savoy and is treated to a day out in London by a trio of friends, facilitated by initially reluctant cab-driver, the inimitable Sid James. Along the way the quintet decides to acquire three hats in daring pranks to give Hardy a memento of her mischievous day out.

Some location work interspersed with sets paints a nostalgic picture of mid-sixties London on which to reminisce, while the musical numbers and choreography isn't bad for a light comedy (even old cad James manages to kick up his heels, in time). Peter Bowles features in a minor supporting role as Hardy's English sponsor, a dour, stiff upper-lipped type serving to contrast Hardy's new found radicalism; the dark and sultry Una Stubbs plays one of trio.

It's very low key, good humoured without the sexual innuendo you might expect from James (considering he was in the thick of "Carry-On" when this was made), suitable for kids and a pleasant postcard of London and the English 'riviera' in the pop culture era.