What a Crazy World

Perfect for those who like to look back at a London in black & white and full of bomb sites. It's the usual working class scenario of bored kids hoping to make it rich with a pop song, and parents in mundane jobs. The film is a good period piece and shows pretty much what the 60s were really like for those who think it was 'swinging' for anyone other than a select few.

Having recently managed to tune in to the Talking Pictures channel, I was delighted to see this film featured. I had seen it before, but a long time ago and could remember little except the title song which was a hit for Joe Brown and The Bruvvers. In reality this is little more than a hastily put together showcase for some of the popular young singing stars of the day. In this instance Joe Brown, Marty Wilde and the GORGEOUS Susan Maughan. Trouble is, the appeal of the film relies more on their popularity, rather than content which follows the old unappreciated-singer-looking-for-a-break scenario.Also by the time this type of film was released, the sixties music scene had moved on rapidly, dating them even at the time. However, like the curate's egg, it is good in parts. Marty Wilde easily out-acts the others as roughneck Herbie Shadbolt. His character looks and sounds convincing. He and his "boys" appear in an early number set in the local Labour Exchange (job centre). And you will rarely see anything more un-PC. The place is crowded with immigrants, many in national costumes and the song bewails the state of the Labour Exchange in having to deal with people who don't speak English. West Indians are depicted dancing to a calypso theme and three characters in coolie hats perform a stereotypical Chinese dance with hands hidden in sleeves and shuffling feet! Apart from the title song most of the others are complete rubbish but we do get to see bits of early sixties London as backdrops and the film has a grittiness not seen in any of Cliff Richard's efforts (apart from Expresso Bongo) The black and white photography makes it more watchable. As does the presence of the many familiar character actors e.g. Michael Robbins, Toni Palmer, Fanny Carby, Harry Locke and, not forgetting the ubiquitous Michael Ripper. In all it is a decent example of the genre and infinitely superior to that contemporary clunker Every Day's a Holiday. Don't watch that one!

From the plot you would expect a potboiler of a film but its stars bring it to life. Harry H. Corbett (AKA Harold Steptoe) and Joe Brown are such likeable characters that you can't help enjoying the movie. Add a live performance from Freddie and the Dreamers and it just can't lose.

I watched this black and white film thinking it must have been made in 1959 - 1960 and was somewhat surprised to find it was 1963!

An early Sixties star vehicle for Joe Brown, Marty Wilde and Susan Maughan, What a Crazy World turns out to be rather better than it might have been. As so often happened with musical films of that period, fashions had moved on by the time it was released, with solo singing stars of the late Fifties being supplanted by beat groups, led by the Beatles. The appearance here of the novelty act Freddie and the Dreamers is a harbinger of what was to come. A Hard Day's Night was released only a year later and occupies a completely different world from this film, which must have seemed quaintly old-fashioned to young cinema-goers.

However, times have moved on and we can now appreciate WaCW for its virtues, which are many. It's lively, fun, and well shot in B&W CinemaScope, and most if not all of its outdoors scenes were shot in genuine London locations, giving it a feeling of authenticity and avoiding staginess, despite its theatrical origins. It's pretty clear that none of the principals is a trained actor, but in the context of the admittedly hackneyed story this doesn't really matter. Stalwarts of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop (like Harry H. Corbett) provide a steady bedrock for the juvenile leads.

There is perhaps a little too much chirpy Cockney on show and, apart from the title number, the songs are not terribly good. Unfortunately, near the beginning of the show there is a jaw-droppingly racist sequence set in a Labour Exchange where it's made clear to the Sixties audience that foreigners (a) talk funny (b) are lazy and (c) are nevertheless after native Brits' jobs. All we can do now is gasp.

The print I saw on Talking Pictures TV was in immaculate condition and I expect that it would very good in HD.

OK, it was great to see a very young Joe Brown, Marty Wilde and sexy Susan Maughan but other than that it was SO dated. It is of my period but there is no way I would have paid to go and see this when it was released.

I'm sorry, but pop films of this era British or American just look like something the local school threw together with and 8mm cine camera.

The only thing I like to watch this type of film for is to see the cars of this period when I bought my first one.