Expresso bongo 1959 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors. A bit dated, but that almost adds to the interest of the film. Her character was only 16 at the start despite the fact geeson herself was in her early 20s. In 1959 joan littlewood took make me an offer up west. There had also been a television dramatisation and in 1954 a film starring peter finch. In this 1959 film version some elements of satire remain, but are overshadowed by an attempt to provide a vehicle for the talents of cliff richard.
When he picks up amateur singer and bongo player cliff richard in a soho espresso bar, he uses a little bit of luck and tons of chutzpah to transform the kid into a. Bongo blues instrumental, norrie paramor, na, performed by hank b. Expresso bongo columbia uk 1959 previous by artist. Expresso bongo 1959 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Title expresso bongo year 1959 distributors val guest prods ltd classified dates 2210 1959 submitted run time 110m 55s bbfc reference aff011106. Cliff richard performs the song love which was composed by norrie paramor and bunny lewis. Feb 01, 2017 johnny jackson laurence harvey, a sleazy talent agent, discovers teenager bert rudge cliff richard singing in a coffee house. Good record of the life and times at a milestone in cultural history, as a film, mostly harmless. Jan 18, 2010 the success of flowering cherry led to regular stage and television work for susan, as well as film roles, including playing cliff richards sister in expresso bongo 1959 and tommy steeles love.
Johnny jackson, a sleazy talent agent, discovers teenager bert rudge singing in a coffee house. Val guests 1959 londonshot brit beat classic charts the fortunes of aspiring musician bert rudge cliff richard. A seedy london promoter turns a naive, workingclass teenager into a pop singing sensation. Hard to belive this is only a few years before the beatles changed everything. Buy expresso bongo flipside 031 dual format edition shop. It still amazes me that cliff richard, one of the most famous rock stars in great britain and other areas of the world, is practically unknown in the u. Expresso bongo is a 1959 film satire of the music industry directed by val guest, shot in an. Despite berts protestation that he really is only interested in playing bongos, johnny starts him on the road to stardom. Expresso bongo british board of film classification. Cliff richard is discovered singing in a coffee bar.
Expresso bongo 1959 val guest, laurence harvey, sylvia syms, yolande donlan, drama, music june 5, 2017 johnny jackson, a sleazy talent agent, discovers teenager bert rudge singing in a coffee house. Agent johnnie discovers herbert rudge playing bongo drums in a coffee bar in soho and signs him to a management contract. Bongo becomes a pop culture sensation, of course, but johnnys hubris eventually proves to be his undoing. Expresso bongo was originally a stage play, a satire on the music business. There had also been a television dramatisation and in 1954 a film. Equally liked and disliked by the folks in soho, from the bar owners to the strip club gals, he discovers a kid singing and playing bongos in a coffee house that gets the kids up and dance. Make me an offer, the new musical from the expresso bongo team of wolf mankowitz, monty norman and david heneker would be directed by joan littlewood at her east stratford home, the theatre royal. The production starred paul scofield with hy hazell, millicent martin. Expresso bongo es una pelicula dirigida por val guest con laurence harvey, sylvia syms, yolande donlan, cliff richard, ano. It was then filmed by val guest in 1959 with cliff richard in a version scripted by mankowitz which eased off on the satire and emphasized the music. A fasttalking wouldbe pop impresario leads a pageant of sleazy characters hoping to cash in on fresh talent in the 1959 british film expresso bongo, now available in the u. While most hit 1950s broadway musicals were filmed, british ones fared much worse. It is adapted from the stage musical of the same name, which was first produced on the stage at the saville theatre, london, on 23 april 1958. Includes all scenes that have been cut on every release.
For the film of expresso bongo 1959, only two of the seventeen numbers remained, and more commercial songs were added to promote cliff richard presenting a time capsule of the exploitative aspects of britains 1958 pop music business. Expresso bongo 1959 johnny jackson played by laurence harvey is a small time hustler with charm and wit looking for a big break to get rich quick. So the answer is that it made no difference at all as chart eligibility rules were different, and sales had already peaked. Teenage bongo player bert rudge richard is plucked from obscurity and thrust. This fifties british classic is a fastpaced story about a cheap, opportunistic soho talent agent harvey who always looks for the quick buck. The deal they cut, however, is highly exploitative of the young singer, and their. It was first produced on the stage at the saville theatre, london, on 23 april 1958. Renamed bongo herbert and fitted out with a loud, rhythmic song called expresso party, the boy quickly becomes a fashionable success. Expresso bongo 1959 val guest, laurence harvey, sylvia syms, yolande donlan, drama, music june 5, 2017 johnny jackson, a sleazy talent agent. Cult movie fans may be most surprised to see this was directed by genrehopping filmmaker val guest, who was best known to this point by directing such hammer films as the quatermass xperiment, enemy from space, and the abominable snowman.
Its book was written by wolf mankowitz and julian more, with music by david heneker and monty norman, also the colyricist with julian more. Slick talent agent johnny jackson sets his sights on bert rudge, a skilled singer and bongo player he discovers in a seedy coffeehouse. It is adapted from the stage musical of the same name, which was first produced on the stage at the saville theatre, london, on 23 april 1958 in the film, cliff richard and the shadows made their second screen. Rudge stands little chance in the music business but is propelled to major stardom after being discovered in an expresso coffee shop by sleazy soho agent johnny laurence harvey. Sleazy london agent laurence harvey turns soho bongo player cliff richard into teen idol.
Sylvia syms in expresso bongo 1959 cliff richard in expresso bongo 1959 expresso. It was then filmed by val guest in 1959 with cliff richard in a version scripted by mankowitz which eased off on the satire and. Its source matter was already well known as it was first a novel by wolf mankowitz which was a best seller. To obtain this category cuts were required but the details are not available. Cliff richard and the shadows expresso bongo columbia uk. Rent expresso bongo 1959 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Derek johnson july 1963 liner notes for cliffs hit album emi issue souvenir golden discs to all artists who sell one million copies of one number. At once joyous fluff and sharp satire, it skewers everything from teen dance crazes to bbc documentaries to the career of its star. The production starred paul scofield with hy hazell, millicent martin and james kenney. Few, if any, can claim to have nailed the heartless, nasty, greedy nature of the music world with quite the same outlandish verve as expresso bongo, however. Dixie hears of bongos 5050 deal with johnny, and passes this information to mayer.
Expresso bongo 1959 val guest, laurence harvey, sylvia. Marvin, bruce welch, jet harris, tony meehan and cliff richard. Espresso bongo is the second studio album released by mental as anything. Includes musical performances, strip club, and nearnude scenes.
Directors val guest cast includes cliff richard, laurence harvey, sylvia syms, yolande donlan, meier tzelniker, gilbert harding. Dixie hears of bongo s 5050 deal with johnny, and passes this information to mayer. In this witty musicbusiness satire, johnny jackson laurence harvey is a talent agent down on his luck who thinks his tide may have turned when he. There is cliff, and there are pensionable teenagers, but at its core this gem of a movie is a rapierlike satire on. Feb 05, 2018 from the film expresso bongo, 1959 directed by val guest. Changing rudges name to bongo herbert, jackson exploits his new client every way he can. Rent expresso bongo 1959 starring laurence harvey and cliff richard on dvd and bluray. Expresso bongo 1959 val guest, laurence harvey, sylvia syms. Bluray video quality expresso bongo 1959 has been brought to you via the british film institute, with two versions of the film and has been presented with a new 1080p hd master made from a 2k scan from the original 35mm camera negative, that has been on loan to the bfi from cohen media in its original aspect ratio of 2. Geeson studied at corona stage academy from 1957 to 1966, during which time she appeared in several movies, including the millionairess 1960, mrs brown youve got a lovely daughter 1968, expresso bongo 1959, and carry on regardless 1961. Fortunately, the val guestdirected expresso bongo 1959 offers little of this. From the film expresso bongo, 1959 directed by val guest. Director val guests 1959 british drama stars laurence harvey, cliff richard, sylvia syms, yolande donlan, hermione baddeley, susan hampshire and avis bunnage.
There is cliff, and there are pensionable teenagers, but. The success of flowering cherry led to regular stage and television work for susan, as well as film roles, including playing cliff richards sister in. Bluray and dvd fulllength expresso bongo 1959 theatrical of the 111 minutes premiere release of the original longer version of the film. U can call me loser until i reivew this neato film. The deal they cut, however, is highly exploitative of the young.
A talent agent named johnny jackson laurence harvey tries to resurrect his flagging career when he stumbles upon a talented young rock n roll. Hes glib and hes flashy, a bluffer with a ready talent for the quick doublecross. Director val guests 1959 british drama stars laurence harvey, cliff richard, sylvia syms, yolande donlan, hermione baddeley. Featured by him in his second film, expresso bongo starring lawrence harvey and yolanda donlan, it was a double hit for cliff for an ep of songs from the film was a simultaneous success.
Expresso bongo is very much a product of its time, which fact may limit its appeal to most modern audiences. Michael holliday mike columbia uk 1959 next on label. Looking forward to playing a few gigs for our fans soon and adding some new people, too. Dubbing him bongo herbert cliff richard, in a role the now. Expresso bongo rivals some of the best us rock n roll movies. Bongo is also a hit with the young debutante set, who visit his dressing room. Expresso bongo is a 1958 west end musical and a satire of the music industry. Expresso bongo 1959 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Cliff richard stars as bongo herbert, yes, bongo herbert. Johnny jackson laurence harvey, a sleazy talent agent, discovers teenager bert rudge cliff richard singing in a coffee house. With laurence harvey, sylvia syms, yolande donlan, cliff richard.
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