Hold On! (1966)

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writer:

Robert E. Kent

Release Date:

12 August 1966 (UK)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy

Tagline:

You've never heard faster beats or seen wilder fun!

Plot:

The rock group Herman's Hermits, on tour in the USA, is offered an opportunity to have a spaceship named after the group...

Cast

Peter Noone	...	Herman (as Herman's Hermits)
Karl Green	...	Karl (as Herman's Hermits)
Keith Hopwood	...	Keith (as Herman's Hermits)
Derek Leckenby	...	Derek (as Herman's Hermits)
Barry Whitwam	...	Barry (as Herman's Hermits)
Shelley Fabares	...	Louisa Page
Sue Ane Langdon	...	Cecile Bannister
Herbert Anderson	...	Edward 'Ed' Lindquist
Bernard Fox	...	Dudley Hawks
Harry Hickox	...	Grant
Hortense Petra	...	Mrs. Henrietta Page
Mickey Deems	...	Publicist
Ray Kellogg	...	Detective
John Hart	...	Detective
Phil Arnold	...	Photographer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bill Baldwin	...	Television Newscaster (uncredited)
Robert Nunn	...	Boy on Airplane (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Benefit Attendee (uncredited)

Directed by
Arthur Lubin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert E. Kent		(as James B. Gordon)

Produced by
Sam Katzman	....	producer

Original Music by
Fred Karger

Cinematography by
Paul Vogel

Film Editing by
Alex Beaton
Ben Lewis

Art Direction by
George W. Davis
Eddie Imazu

Set Decoration by
F. Keogh Gleason
Henry Grace

Makeup Department
Josephine Ardigo	....	hair stylist
Don Donaldson	....	makeup artist
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Bobby Stone	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mike Lewis	....	assistant director
Al Shenberg	....	assistant director
James Welch	....	assistant director
Mickey Lewis	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Jerome Graham	....	props
William Skammes	....	props

Sound Department
Lambert E. Day	....	sound
Victor Goode	....	boom operator
Franklin Milton	....	sound recordist
Bruce Wright	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
J. McMillan Johnson	....	special visual effects
Carroll L. Shepphird	....	special visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Howard Bradner	....	grip
Edward T. Estabrook	....	still photographer (as Ed Esterbrook)
George Hollister	....	camera assistant
Bill Shaw	....	gaffer
Tom Smith	....	grip
Richard Towers	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Vicki Nichols	....	wardrobe
Gene Ostler	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Bill Stafford	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Jack Stern	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Vincent Chase	....	dialogue coach
Jerome F. Katzman	....	assistant to producer
Pearl Leiter	....	script supervisor
Wilda Taylor	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Four-Leaf Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1970) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Turner Program Services (TPS) (1986-1998) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Television (1998-) (USA) (all media)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1966) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:6 (nf) | Australia:G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Fairmont Miramar Hotel Santa Monica - 101 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

Four-Leaf Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: The strawberry ice cream cones that Herman and Louisa buy at the stand are a completely different shape when they arrive at the roller coaster (they have grown into a distinct two-scoop shape; at the stand they were just large blobs).

Quotes:

Dudley Hawks:How many times must I warn you to stay away from girls?
Herman:But she was someone to talk to.
Dudley Hawks:Oh yes, it all starts with talking, yakity-yakity-yak. But the moment the talking stops, my boy. you're in trouble.
Herman:You have an evil mind.
Dudley Hawks:I'm old enough to enjoy it. You're not. And keep the door locked.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in You Can't Do That! The Making of 'A Hard Day's Night' (1995) (V)

Soundtrack:

Gotta Get Away

Fascinatingly inappropriate

I found Hold On to be fascinatingly inappropriate. The filmmakers obviously wanted to cash in on the British Invasion and the success of the Beatles movies, but they clearly were totally out of touch with the youth culture of the time. They made a movie in 1966 starring one of the most popular groups of the 60s, and everything about the film screams the 50s: the writing, the direction, even the incidental music on the soundtrack. I don't blame Arthur Lubin, who was 65 years old at the time and a veteran of 1940s and 1950s films and 1950s and 1960s TV shows. That's exactly what Hold On reminds me of: a peculiar blend of a 1950s movie and a 1960s TV show. It has the look, the sound, even the feel. The producers should have hired someone who had a better feel for the pop music culture of the 1960s. Imagine the Beatles dropped in the middle of a beach party movie, or a Rock Hudson/Doris Day film. Except, of course, the Beatles could act.