Wonderful to Be Young! (1961)

Nicky and his friends find that their youth club is in danger of being flattened to make way for a new office block unless they can come up with £1500 to pay the new owner, the ruthless ... See full summary »

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writers:

Ronald Cass, Peter Myers

Stars:

Cliff Richard, Robert Morley, Carole Gray

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cliff Richard	...	Nicholas 'Nicky' Black
Robert Morley	...	Hamilton Black
Carole Gray	...	Toni
Jet Harris	...	Self (bass guitar) (as The Shadows)
Hank B. Marvin	...	Self (lead guitar (as The Shadows)
Tony Meehan	...	Self (drums) (as The Shadows)
Bruce Welch	...	Self (rhythm guitar) (as The Shadows)
Teddy Green	...	Chris
Richard O'Sullivan	...	Ernest
Melvyn Hayes	...	Jimmy
Annette Robertson	...	Barbara
Robertson Hare	...	Chauffeur
Sonya Cordeau	...	Dorinda Morell
Sean Sullivan	...	Eddie
Harold Scott	...	Dench

Storyline

Nicky and his friends find that their youth club is in danger of being flattened to make way for a new office block unless they can come up with £1500 to pay the new owner, the ruthless property tycoon Hamilton Black. To help raise the cash, Nicky records a song and his friends broadcast it via a pirate radio station, touting him as "The Mystery Singer" - the plan works and interest in their up and coming show is heightened by this new but unknown heart-throb. But Nicky has an even bigger secret and one that he cannot share, even with his girlfriend Toni.

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Plot Keywords:

pirate broadcasting | independent film | 

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Taglines:

Seventeen New and Wonderful! Wonderful! Songs

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film has been adapted into a stage musical by John Plews, which premiered at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in London in December 2007, the stage adaptation follows the film story closely, but includes several additional songs. In February 2013 it premiered in Scotland at Eastwood Park Theatre in Giffnock, performed by the EROS Musical Society.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood U.K.: Making It in London (1993)

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Soundtracks

Where Did You Get that Hat?
(uncredited)
Written by Joseph J. Sullivan
Performed by the cast in "You Got A Show" medley

User Reviews

This is just the coolest film...

... The Shadows come off best here with their few lines and great instrumentals undermining the potential datedness of pop stars' movie appearances. However Cliff really rocks and even if the cinematic techniques would be bettered in the follow-up Summer Holiday, the music is just superb.

The basic plot of this is so similar to The Blues Brothers it's uncanny. I should be very surprised if John Landis and Dan Aykroyd hadn't seen The Young Ones.

Forget about Grazina Frame's dubbed voice, forget about the square old pop played by Robert Morley, and remember the great songs and the unbelievably handsome Cliff!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 January 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

Wonderful to Be Young!

Filming Locations:

ABPC Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1