is a 1961 British comedy musical film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Cliff Richard, Robert Morley as his character's father, Carole Gray as his love interest, and the Shadows as his band.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Black has realised that his son is the mystery singer that all of London is talking about, after the youth club members have done some pirate broadcasts to promote their show.
Producer Kenneth Harper hired Sidney J. Furie as director and Ronald Cass and Peter Myers as writers, and during a meeting in Harper's flat, the four agreed to borrow the storyline of the film musical Babes In Arms (1939), where youngsters Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland put on a show with their friends to raise money.
[1] The film was originally intended to feature the Shadows in acting roles, but it was decided that more professional young actors needed to be cast instead, so the roles originally intended for Hank Marvin and Jet Harris were given to Richard O'Sullivan and Melvyn Hayes, while the Shadows themselves appear only as non-speaking band members.
[1] Another early consideration was German singer and actress Heidi Bruhl, while Richard himself in an interview expressed an interest in engaging the very young Helen Shapiro for the role.
[12] At the end, Nicky, to a rapturous reception from screaming female fans, "high-kicking his way centre-stage", sings the chorus of "Living Doll".
[12] Napper reads the reprise of the Edwardian-inspired number at the end, complete with a reconciled Hamilton Black onstage, as "the point at which the generational conflict of the film is resolved, significantly through a continuity of entertainment values and styles".
The story is unremarkable, the numbers very uneven, from a brilliant fantasy opening called "Nothing's Impossible" and the optimism of "What D'You Know We've Got a Show", both written by Peter Myers and Ronald Cass, to one or two blatant imitations of Hollywood routines.
But there is a tremendous impression of overall pace and drive, a minimum of linking dialogue, and a richly spirited performance by Robert Morley as the scoundrelly millionaire which serves to weld the whole thing together.