Summer Holiday (1963)

A fabulous 60s Musical - 4 London Bus mechanics strike up a deal with London Transport. They do up a double decker London Bus, drive it around Europe as a hotel and if they make it they ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Yates

Writers:

Peter Myers (original story and screenplay), Ronald Cass (original story and screenplay)

Stars:

Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters, Melvyn Hayes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cliff Richard	...	Don
Lauri Peters	...	Barbara
Melvyn Hayes	...	Cyril
Una Stubbs	...	Sandy
Teddy Green	...	Steve
Pamela Hart	...	Angie
Jeremy Bulloch	...	Edwin
Jacqueline Daryl	...	Mimsie
Madge Ryan	...	Stella
Lionel Murton	...	Jerry
Christine Lawson	...	Annie
Ron Moody	...	Orlando
David Kossoff	...	Magistrate
Wendy Barrie	...	Shepherdess / Dancer (as Wendy Barry)
Nicholas Phipps	...	Wrightmore

Storyline

A fabulous 60s Musical - 4 London Bus mechanics strike up a deal with London Transport. They do up a double decker London Bus, drive it around Europe as a hotel and if they make it they will own and be in charge of a whole fleet. While on the road in France they pick up 3 ladies whose car breaks down and offer to take them to their next singing job in Athens. They also pick up a stowaway. A young, American boy. Meanwhile, a young American female singer has gone missing. Her mother (who is a VERY ambitious woman) and her aid take the story to the press and it makes the front page. They do all they can to make the story run for as long as possible, including misdirecting the bus up an extremely steep Yugoslavian hill. We find out the young American boy is actually the young American girl who is missing. Mayhem ensues as the lead character, Don (Cliff Richard) falls for Barbara. Eventually, when the 8 bus riders reach Athens, they're arrested for kidnapping. In front of her mother and a ...

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Plot Keywords:

deception | american | bus | holiday | hotel | 

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Taglines:

From the First Kiss to the Last Blush It's the Craziest Riot On Wheels!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

French English

Release Date:

15 March 1963 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Summer Holiday

Filming Locations:

The Elstree Studios of Associated British Picture Corporation, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ivy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White (opening sequence) Color (Colour by) (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the first four months of the film's 1963 release, the title song and three others (The Next Time, Bachelor Boy and Foot Tapper) all reached No.1 on the U.K. Charts.

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Goofs

Cliff and his mates are wearing the same clothes for 7 days during the bus repairs/remodelling.

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Quotes

Angie: Do you call everybody Charlie?
Steve: Only the people I like.

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Crazy Credits

"The Shadows and their guitars" are credited in the opening credits.

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Connections

Featured in Perpetual Motion: The Routemaster Bus (1992)

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Soundtracks

Really Waltzing
By Peter Myers Ronald Cass
Sung by Cliff Richard and The Mike Sammes Singers (uncredited)

User Reviews

Teeners refurbish an old London double-decker bus to go on tour.

If you didn't like the story, of which there was very little, you would have enjoyed the songs and the sheer teen exuberance of the whole idea - going on a summer holiday tour in an old London double-decker.

In my case, it was just the right amount of medicine for a thirteen-year old with bad case of angst and weltschmerz. I felt the song "The Next Time" was all about me. At the time Cliff Richard was the British counterpart of Pat Boone - clean cut, a little naughty sometimes but generally a "good boy." No parent complained about him.

Cliff's songs were very big hits in my country and we made good although somewhat senseless use of his "Bachelor Boy." As senior scouts we went camping at Mount Makiling, the former site of a World Scouting Jamboree. At 10:00 p.m. after taps when all lights should be out and everybody should be asleep, we would sing it boisterously and a scoutmaster would go up our camping ground, a long way from the tourist lodge where he was staying, to scold the delinquents into piping down. Only he didn't know it was us because the boys from other schools in the other tents never squealed on us. They must have enjoyed our singing.