Andrew Roberts writes: In January 1963, British cinemagoers were enticed by posters claiming that, “It’s what happens when FOUR BOYS in a borrowed bus... (with built-in bunks and bath)... meet FOUR GIRLS with a single mission...MEN!!”. For a mere 1/9d, the audience could see Summer Holiday – and vicariously experience the pleasures of sun and sea, while watching Cliff Richard sporting polyester shirts in many and various hues. The film became the second most popular film at the British box office of 1963; yet a mere 18 months later, the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night almost instantly relegated Cliff and co to the ranks of the middle-aged.
Back in 1957, Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy of Anglo-Amalgamated, a company that specialised in low-budget films, produced The Tommy Steele Story, Britain’s first teenage rock’n’roll musical. Just weeks after its release in June 1957, it had recouped its £15,000 production costs, going on to make a total profit of £100,000. The result was a spate of ............
Back in 1957, Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy of Anglo-Amalgamated, a company that specialised in low-budget films, produced The Tommy Steele Story, Britain’s first teenage rock’n’roll musical. Just weeks after its release in June 1957, it had recouped its £15,000 production costs, going on to make a total profit of £100,000. The result was a spate of ........
