Ferry Cross the Mersey (1965)

Gerry and Fred Marsden, Les McGuire, and Les "Chad" Chadwick portray themselves in a romp through the early 1960's Liverpool Beat Scene. Art students by day and musicians by night the boy's... See full summary »

Director:

Jeremy Summers

Writers:

David Franden, Tony Warren (story)

Stars:

Gerry Marsden, Freddie Marsden, Leslie Maguire

Cast

Credited cast:
Gerry Marsden	...	Gerry
Freddie Marsden	...	Fred
Leslie Maguire	...	Les
Les Chadwick	...	Chad
Julie Samuel	...	Dodie Dawson
T.P. McKenna	...	Jack Hanson
Mona Washbourne	...	Aunt Lil
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eric Barker	...	Col. Dawson
The Black Knights	...	Themselves
Cilla Black	...	Herself
The Blackwells	...	Themselves
George A. Cooper	...	Mr. Lumsden
Mischa De La Motte	...	Dawson's Butler
Earl Royce and The Olympics	...	Themselves
The Fourmost	...	Themselves

Storyline

Gerry and Fred Marsden, Les McGuire, and Les "Chad" Chadwick portray themselves in a romp through the early 1960's Liverpool Beat Scene. Art students by day and musicians by night the boy's big break comes by winning a local talent contest. But first, they must retrieve their instruments which have been mistakenly carried to the airport.

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Plot Keywords:

rock band | battle of the bands

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Taglines:

The Big Beat is Back With the Excitingest New Pacemaking Pack!

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Genres:

Musical

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1965 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

1000 trelles mes' ti nyhta

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Subafilms

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Julie Samuel receives an "introducing" credit.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970) (2000)

User Reviews

A rip-off, but a pretty good one

This must have been made very soon after the smash success of the Beatles film "A hard day's night", and it is virtually a carbon copy. In the mid-Sixties most of the beat groups (especially those managed by Brian Epstein) were prodded into making films, of varying quality.

This one starts off very well, with some documentary footage of Liverpool and its people, emphasising the poverty of the place, then followed by what looks like genuine footage taken inside the legendary Cavern club, with the band performing in the darkness and heat.

Unfortunately, when the film decides that it wants to tell a STORY, things slide rapidly downhill. It all becomes silly and unfunny, though I've got to say that the actress playing Gerry's blonde girlfriend is an absolute knockout - whatever happened to her ??? A highlight is seeing the band on the famous ferry, performing their best-known song, and it really takes you (well, it took ME) to Liverpool in the Sixties, giving a poignant reminder that for just a few years, the 'pool really did seem like the happiest place in Britain.

I wonder why this film has never officially resurfaced? Legal hassles resulting from the breaking-up of Brian Epstein's business empire?