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Cliff Richard - DVD Collection (1961)




















The three nostalgic British musicals in the Cliff Richard DVD 
Collection are a good reminder that, thanks to a few short years
 in the 1960s, Sir Cliff can legitimately include "film star" on his 
already exceptional show business CV. The Young Ones (1961), 
Summer Holiday (1963) and Wonderful Life (1964) would make 
tame fare for a teen audience today, but they retain a polished 
and honest charm which might surprise the sharpest of cynics. 
First and foremost, of course, they were Cliff Richard vehicles: 
designed to showcase his all-round talents and capitalise on his 
first, heady wave of pop chart success. They are also unashamed
 homages to the heyday of the MGM B-musical with familiar 
themes: let's put on a show/save the youth club/make a film. But 
with up-and-coming directors Sidney Furie and Peter Yates 
making imaginative and sophisticated use of wide-angle camera 
work and fresh, snappy choreography by Herbert Ross and Gillian
 Lynne, they also have plenty of assets other than Cliff's 
wholesome appeal. There are some fine set pieces and surreal 
flashes, notably the history of cinema in Wonderful Life and the 
extraordinary mime sequence in Summer Holiday. They also tap 
into the very British energy of a group of young actors and 
dancers including Una Stubbs, Susan Hampshire, Melvyn Hayes 
and Richard O'Sullivan, as well as Cliff's band at the time, The 
Shadows. For sheer verve, they deserve to be seen on their own 
merits. 


Special THXN 2 Iwan 1