Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

I remember when this movie was being made, I was working on another movie at the time with Sheila White, & like everybody at the time went to see it in the hope that I could identify with it. Although a good story & well acted by all in the movie it lacked something. It should have been shot in London & maybe then it would have captured more of the spirit of the time. What it does have however is a good example of youth growing up & the adventure that the male lead goes on. I still watch this film every year & I wouldn't be without a copy. It has become an essential part of the epoch that it represents with some very funny scenes, notably Capable Caroline & her family where Jamie spends a weekend. Judy Geeson has the female lead & she looked great, I worked with her many years later & we talked about the movie. She told me how the director held her hand in the rushes theatre the day they watched the nude scenes & we laughed, he seemed rather anxious as to what I would think about it, she said. Over all I like the film & it is a must have.

Here is a 92 minute delight. I recall seeing this film advertised in the 60's & wanting to see it & missed it! So it was with great pleasure I recently acquired a tape & watched it for the first time in 2006! Was any youth as innocent as the kids depicted here? Likely the culture in 1966-67 when this film was released was less innocent. Certainly in the US, where Anti-war demonstrations were growing. But there is no hint of that here, no "gangs", no bad behavior over football, no drugs. Just the Boy wanting the Girl. Barry Evans & Judy Geeson are wonderful as Boy & Girl. The film is famous for some psychedelic scenes, and daring nudity, photographed wonderfully, but it really should be remembered for the light hearted romp it so expertly provides. The 1968 Film review in the NY Times noted the photography but was less enamored with the script. Perhaps seeing it then in the US, when more serious issues so affected youth, Viet Nam, the draft, war, body bags, the reviewers could not forgive the light hearted banter that is so much of the Barry Evans character. Yet that itself I find makes the period the film is trying to depict come very much alive nearly 40 years later. The film is highly entertaining, delightful and well worth seeing for the fresh talent and open eyed wonder of Barry Evans and the delightful young Judy Geeson. Here is a film that ought to be brought out on DVD.A whole generation or two might benefit seeing a more innocent time, and how nice it was then, minus the assorted horrors we now live with!

Oh boy does this film bring back memories of my 1960's teenage years. In 1967 I was 17 going on 18 the same age as the character Jamie in this film. I remember going to the cinema to watch this movie after seeing it advertised in a newspaper. Jamie has several encounters with young ladies and gets so called expert backing and advice from his pal Spike. Of all the young women he is involved with Jamie is infatuated with Mary played by Judy Geeson, but their romance is short lived as she is far too much of a free spirit for young Jamie. When I watch this film I am transported back in time bringing back memories of young ladies I have known. Barry Evans was ideal in the part of Jamie McGregor and it was a pity that his career never really took off in films and so sad how his life ended in strange circumstances. I am sure you will enjoy this warm happy film right from the moment Traffic belt out the theme song through the opening titles and until the closing titles when Jamie rides off into the sunset as a conductor on a bus.

I just watched this on DVD having not seen it for about 30 years and very much enjoyed it. It's a simple story and although set in the 1960s it's a timeless one. Every guy in the world remembers being that age and how desperate you are to experience the pleasures of women. The film also honestly depicts how the reality of losing your virginity isn't the mind blowing experience you imagined it would be and leaves you feeling a bit odd. Although reminiscent of the 70s sex comedies that followed this film has much more heart and depth.

It's also a perfect time capsule of Britain at a unique point in it's history. It shows the brave new world of 1960s architecture just before it all turned sour. This was to be the way we were going to live with. Everything made from concrete with people interacting in strange urban spaces. Of course we know that it failed miserably but there was a brief moment when it must have felt like a bright new future. The Victorian architecture that we now value depressed the people of the 1960s and reminded them of the past and of the war.

The overall experience of watching this was a strange one. It is very much of the 60s and yet it also feels incredibly modern as if it was made later but set in the 60s. Barry Evans wouldn't have looked out of place in the 80s with his jeans and white shirt. Of course the girls all look fantastic in their mini skirts and sexy boots. I don't know if suburbia was really as liberated as this in the 1960s but it's fun to imagine that it was.

What is a great movie? Is it The third Man or Citizen Kane because they are "Great"? Classics because of their technique and artistry.Certainly. Some Like It Hot, Duck Soup, 2001, The Shawshank Redemption and Taxi Driver all are great movies for obvious reasons.But there are movies that are personal classics for different reasons. This is one of mine. Some movies, like some songs, have so many personal memories attached that they transcend artistic or dramatic reason. This movie encapsulates all the angst and fun of those oh so brief years of my youth. Forget all those smart ass, know it all films of today, this movie shows how it really was. I recently discovered a video of this movie that I had taped from TV some years ago. Today I watched it. Oh man, where did the time go?

Ok, I'm going to be objective. This is not a great movie in the same way that Citizen Kane is. The acting is, for the most part, pretty awful. The storyline is, by clasic standards, laughable. But that is not important to me. Judy Geeson, Angela Scoula and Vanessa Howard are so beautiful in this movie, British beautiful that is, I have moments of rapture when I watch them. The music, and I have the soundtrack album on vinyl, is '60's British psychedelia. Whenever I hear Andy Ellison sing 'It's been a long time' or the title song, I timeslip back to the days of my youth.

It doesn't really matter to me what anybody else says about this movie, I love it. I just wish I could do it again. Oh yesterday leave me alone. I have no regrets except for those times that slipped by so fast. The seed of memory will grow into a great tree of life as we lived it.Forgive my reminiscences.

It's Been A Long Time.