Seaside Swingers

John Leyton's father worked like a dog to keep him in school, but while waiting for his proposed career to begin, he's trying to break into show business as a singer. He applies to a holiday camp, and gets the job -- as a children's entertainer. Disappointed but game, he struggles, making friends with the other young people working there, hoping for a break.

It's one of those British musicals of the early 1960s with every sort of pop music from music hall to blackfaced performer, all the way up to the early stages of what would become acid rock, in a series of performances that take up almost half of the movie's 94 minutes. The staging of the musical numbers varies from straightforward to expansive in the hands of choreographer Gillian Lynne and DP Nicholas Roeg, and the cast includes Ron Moody as an Italian singing teacher, sort of, Liz Fraser as a good-hearted secretary, Nicholas Parsons, and Michael Ripper. I don't recall any of the songs making their way across the Atlantic, but the variety and competence of most of them made watching this one a pleasant experience.

It's a rags to riches tale of 3 guys & 4 gals who meet while working at a holiday camp and end up entering and winning the annual talent contest. Everything moves along rather too quickly - the plot where Gerry (John Leyton) falls for the girl, loses the girl to Tim (Mike Sarne) and then is reunited with her happens in an instant and the fact that the group, The Lucky Seven, beats Freddie & the Dreamers in the contest is a bit too unbelievable and smacks of a touch of vote rigging. Still ... on the whole it is a very entertaining film.

The songs are a bit corny but feel-good - the best being the gorgeous Baker Twins' "Romeo Jones" and the title song (although some of the lyrics should have been revised as they don't quite fit in with the music). I would also have to say that the serenade by Tim to Christina ("Indubitably Me") is incredibly catchy.

I first saw this movie around the end of the 70s and have to admit that my sister and I used to watch it on tape at least once a day. I was gutted when someone taped over it but am happy to say I have a new copy.

The film was re released in the early 80s as 'The Adventures of Tim' which is not surprising as, although Sarne's Character isn't really supposed to be the main one, he is hilarious throughout and steals every scene he is in.

If you want a film to cheer you up on a wet Saturday morning - you could do a lot worse than this one.

Despite the hype at the time of its release, this musical offering was never particularly good and, if you are expecting to hear any classic sixties tracks, then go and buy a CD. For the most part the music consists of numbers which you would be disappointed to find on the 'B' side of a single. The dancing is similarly uninspired - the usual (for the time) jumping up and down and from side to side with arms outstretched, rather like a manic aerobics session. The love triangle and older versus younger generation plot is simplistic. The acting is variable with stalwarts such as Ron Moody, Liz Fraser and Michael Ripper there to balance the less able pop artistes. However, as a piece of sixties nostalgia,particularly with its holiday camp setting, the film is well worth a look and Freddie and the Dreamers are always value for money.

This is not a great film and is badly dated. I gave it a 10 anyways based solely on seeing Jennifer and Susan Baker sing the song "Romeo Jones". I had not seen this film since the 60s yet this scene popped into my head recently as I recalled having a huge crush on these twin sisters when I was a kid. I had not thought of this in years and tracked down a copy of the film on eBay. The performance was as wonderful as I remembered and I still have a crush on these girls. They only were in a handful of films but they are completely adorable. I find it hard to believe that they were not in more films or offered a record contract. There is not much info on the web on the twins so I have no idea what paths their lives took after they quit making films. The rest of the cast is more than capable with John Leyton (the Great Escape), Ron Moody (Oliver) and Michael Ripper (Every Hammer film ever made), and do the best they can with a substandard script. There is a couple of bizarre performances by Freddie and the Dreamers and a busty Liz Fraser to liven things up, but the real attraction for me is the Baker Twins. Their performance so impressed me when I was 10 years old that it remained in my head for over 40 years. I am just glad that it worked it's way out of my subconscious mind so I could enjoy it all over again.

I vividly recall my grandmother watching Freddie and the Dreamers cavorting about dressed as chefs on her new television and telling us all how much she liked him.

Seen today the biggest surprise the thing offers is the presence of Nicolas Roeg's name on the credits. Butlins at Clacton provides an attractive backdrop, the choreography by Gilliam Lynne is lively, but it's aggressive energy rapidly gets tiring and it seriously shows it's age when the hero sings to himself in blackface.

John Leyton signally fails to build on the profile he recently earned from 'The Great Escape while Mike Sarne is aptly dismissed as "White Fang, king of the woolpack" as the Honorable Timothy Gilpin. But Ron Moody and Michael Ripper make a surprisingly charming singing duo (we're expected to believe that Ripper was once a boy soprano), while Liz Fraser is always good to see.