Ferry Cross the Mersey

In the wake of the recent death of the Pacemakers' lead singer Gerry Marsden, I've been listening lately to some of the recordings of the group and decided to look in on this, their debut and indeed only feature.

Released in the considerable slipstream of the Beatles' hugely successful "A Hard Day's Night", in truth, the Pacemakers' popularity, like that of many other Merseybeat bands of the time, was already on the wane as the Liverpool sound was overtaken by tougher, more R 'n' B / blues / rock-based sounds from other parts of the country of the likes of the Animals, Rolling Stones and Kinks, to name but three and indeed by mid 1965, they had already enjoyed what would turn out to be their final top 20 hit either here or in the States.

Made on a low budget in black and white, the film is short in duration and even then is considerably padded out to extend its running time. This is manifest in the obvious insertion of a local song contest, featuring two other local acts, who both get a song to sing, the Fourmost and Cilla Black as well as a mini-set by the Pacemakers themselves to finish.

The plot, what there is of it, makes much of lead singer Gerry Marsden's cheeky face and sunny disposition. He's given a pretty young girlfriend, daughter of a rich, out-of-town businessman with all the trappings of financial success (country house with butler, fancy car with chauffeur etc) presumably to contrast with our kid's working class background, staying as he is in his aunt's flat and zipping down to art college on his little motorbike. But of course Gerry's real talent lies in music so that any chance he gets, he hooks up with his three band mates to make music wherever they happen to roll up, be it on a coffee break at the local toilet-manufacturing factory where one of them works, a nearby record shop when they're buying some new instruments or even at the big fancy house of Julie Samuel's monied father. These appearances are usually accompanied by a group of screaming, adoring young fans, mostly teenage.

It's all very light and undemanding, the group attempting the comedic naturalism in their speaking part of their more famous city rivals but ultimately falling short and being reduced to unfunny slapstick, saying "fab" and "gear" whenever they can and generally mugging at the camera. The plentiful original songs are brief, bright and energetic but ultimately lightweight apart from the excellent change-of-pace title song which has deservedly worn well down the years. While it was welcome also to see the local sites of Liverpool at the time, including a rare glimpse of the vaunted Cavern, it was likewise unpleasant to clap eyes on the disgraced disc-jockey Jimmy Savile compering the closing talent competition.

The film can't escape its cheap, rushed cash-in feel but it's impossible to dislike. I understand it often went out originally as the second feature on a double-bill with that other film mentioned above and it does pale considerably on all levels in comparison, but it's still probably better than the bland music-related films the likes of Cliff Richard and even Elvis were churning out at the same time.

"Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" is a hard film to find and if you want to see it you'll have to hunt around for it. This is a surprise, as Gerry & the Pacemakers were a big part of the Merseybeat scene that produced the Beatles and the British Invasion of the U. S. that followed. The title song was a big hit in early 1965 and was a well known song becoming the group's most famous. You would think that there would be enough interest from Boomers and Beatles fans to keep it easily available, but it has sunk into almost complete oblivion. Often this can be due to legal reasons over ownership, but here I imagine that no one felt there was an audience for it. It was made by many of the people who made "A Hard Day's Night" - produced by Brian Epstein, scored by George Martin and shot by the great cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, who not only lensed "A Hard Day's Night", but also "Dr. Strangelove", "The Omen", and "Star Wars. (1977). Of course there were two big differences. DirectorJeremy Summers came from British television and while he did quite a good job, he wasn't the inspired Richard Lester. Secondly, Gerry Marsden composed the songs for the film, but he was not Lennon and McCartney and Gerry & the Pacemakers weren't the Beatles.

The band arrived in America near the end of the first wave of the British Invasion in the early summer of 1964 along with Peter & Gordon and Chad & Jeremy. A second wave would arrive in the fall with harder groups like the Kinks, the Animals and the Rolling Stones (whose first top 10 hit was "Time Is On My Side"). They had a string of six hit singles with the film's title song and "It's gonna Be Alright" the last but for a momentary resurfacing in the fall of '66 with :Girl On a Swing". Like almost all of the British Invasion bands they had a much bigger career in Britain, where their first three songs were all number ones. In their early days they were real rockers doing wild performances of songs like "Rip It Up" and "Reelin' and Rockin'" and here we do get the last part of a really hot take on "Slow Down" by the band at the legendary Cavern Club, the epicenter of Merseybeat where the Beatles became famous. (Just for this glimpse at the club and its patrons in its heyday the film has cultural value). But the band's singles were all in a pop vein with the bigger hits being orchestrated ballads like "Ferry" and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying.".

The movie begins with the band arriving back in Liverpool with a throng of screaming fans awaiting them while the soundtrack plays "It's Gonna Be Alright", an uptempo, basically acoustic number. Throughout the film the band is shown drawing crowds and screams every time they begin to play, even extemporaneously in a warehouse, which makes them seem a bit bigger than they were. Though they had ardent fans in Liverpool, the intensity of the crowds seemed more Beatles-level than what they actually might have experienced. After the airport, the rest of the film is a flashback to their early days. Epstein insisted that almost everything be filmed in or near Gerry's own neighborhood, so we get a rare view of Liverpool in 1964. A light plot entails Gerry living with his Aunt Lil (Mona Washburn in a delightful performance) and what seem to be two comically stuffy boarders. Gerry's rich girlfriend Dodie (she lives in the Tudor manor house, Speke Hall) helps him find a manager, but the manager, Jack Hanson, can only get them a recording contract if they win the big beat contest, a kind of Battle of the Bands.

The film is pleasant without ever really exceeding what fans of the band would expect. The Beatles were already four distinct personalities to their fans even before they made their first film, while most other bands were rather faceless in the days of radio hits. The Pacemakers (Gerry's older brother Fred as drummer, Les Chadwick on bass and Les Maguire on keyboards) were a fairly average-looking group who do their best in the scenes they're given, but don't possess the charisma to really stand out. These are mostly comic bits like their sped-up boyish antics in a warehouse, semi-pandemonium at Art School and a meal at a Chinese restaurant The film seems to portray them as a mild version of the Marx Brothers, bringing a bit of anarchy wherever they go. To the film's credit Dodie's father approves of Gerry despite not appreciating the music, avoiding cliche and melodrama. Gerry's songs are interspersed throughout with the best non title song setting being an impromptu, crowd-gathering "Baby, You're So Good To Me" at Frank Hessy's Music Store. Of course the title song is actually staged on the Montwood ferryboat as it crosses the River Mersey. The song was given a wonderfully evocative orchestral backing by George Martin from which the strings are omitted in this scene to make it sound like it was really being sung on the boat. The final credits repeat the song with the full orchestration. Martin wrote the instrumental score for the film as well. There's a nice moment when Gerry leaves home on his motorbike and, filmed from above amid the warehouses and docks of Liverpool, is accompanied by a big, minor key romantic theme and for a moment it seems like "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg".

Of course everything builds to the big contest at the Locarno Ballroom with its 50 foot stage, three balconies and over 3,000 person capacity. The boys' instruments have been accidentally sent to the airport and they must frantically get there and back to even be able to play. This creates an extended Keystone Kops sequence. "Will they make it?" provides the only tension in the film but it also gives us a chance to hear a few more genuinely popular Mersey bands play on stage. I wish they had been allowed to play longer. The Fourmost do a rather folky song rather than one of their typical hits like "A Little Loving". Eric Royce & the Olympians perform the rock and roll and rockabilly-ish "Shake a Tail Feather" and the Black Knights do the Nashville Teens-like "I Got a Woman". Best are the Blackwells with their hair dyed platinum blond with the bluesy rocker "Why Don't You Love Me". Their look matches that of stage emcee Jimmy Saville, considered a harmless eccentric at this time, but who turned out to be a despicable monster in real life. Finally we get a full song, "Is It Love?" by Cilla Black, pressed into it to stall for time so Gerry can make it (with her manager and future husband Bobby Willis almost unrecognizable in horn rim glasses in the scene). She was a one-hit artist in the States ("You're My World") but had a legendary career in Britain with hit after hit, over time becoming a national treasure. Overall this film is fun and full of energy and enthusiasm and captures something of a special place at a special time. It deserves a few more fans and does not deserve oblivion..

Brian Epstein who managed The Beatles who certainly brought the Liverpool sound to the world had many other artists under his management. One of those was Gerry And The Pacemakers who were the Beatles without the pageboy haircuts. Gerry was Gerry Marsden the lead singer and this film would have been a breakout for them as much as A Hard Day's Night would have been for the Fab four.

Ferry Across The Mersey was produced by Epstein and it not only features Gerry And The Pacemakers but a whole range of artists familiar to those who treasure the Liverpool rock scene. As for the plot it's simply Gerry's girl friend Julie Samuel getting manager T.P. McKenna to listen to the group and of course he likes them. When the guys are ready for their big break their instruments are misplaced and we get a Mack Sennett like car chase scene to retrieve them.

In A Hard Day's Night Wilfrid Brambell played Paul McCartney's grandfather and in this film Mona Washbourne plays Gerry Marsden's aunt with the same comic relief.

A pleasant diversion and a must if you are a fan of the Liverpool music scene.

Another '60s pop flick that followed in the wake of the Beatle's "Hard Day's Night".

Shot on location in Liverpool. Entertaining enough in its own way. Looks like it contains some genuine concert footage and there are a number of guest appearances by some of the big name "Merseybeat" stars of the era. Lots of toe tappers throughout and, of course, there's that wonderful theme song.

Marsden and Co. handled comedy with a certain breezy efficiency as did the Fab Four and the Monkees which is more than you can say for today's tedious collection of mumbling, rude and generally unlikable pop and rock stars.

Rarely shows up on television these days but worth watching out for.

I first saw this film in early 1971 and from then on I was a fervent Gerry fan.The period is really well captured with the music and various shots of the city of Liverpool and the ferries.Many reviews have criticised the plot of the film but it is in my opinion an equal for A Hard Days Night.Not seen much these days and difficult to find on video or DVD but if you look in the right places you can obtain one.If you are into 60s music you will love the tunes in this film not only Gerrys such as Ferry Cross The Mersey,Think About Love,Its Gonna Be Alright but also The Fourmost and Cilla Black give good performances.Also Jimmy Saville as the concert compare in the finale brings back great memories of a great era of music. watch the film and enjoy!!!!!