What a Crazy World

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.

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!

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.

Terrific throwback and nostalgic look at the early 1960s and London. Lots of familiar faces including Harry H Corbett doing a brilliant turn as the perpetually angry blue collar dad. The affable Joe Brown leads a group of ne'er do wells through the markets, cafes, pubs and clubs of London. The songs aren't great, but neither do they feel too forced or crowbarred in to the story. The similarities (parallels) between this film and Grease are uncanny. The manic Freddie and the Dreamers add some comic relief. Pretty good movie, even in 2020!