It's a Wonderful World

Val Guest's black & white dramas of the fifties invariably outclassed his films in colour, of which this is probably the most tolerable.

In order to compensate for bandleader Ted Heath's woodenness playing himself the rest of the film is rather frantically farcical; with a mildly satirical plot making the usual digs at long-haired fuddy duddies and Harold Lang playing an effete music critic.

George Cole overacts wildly, a plot strand resembles Lt. Kije and above all there's a bizarre dream sequence. All in Spectascope and Technicolor to remind you that you wouldn't get any of this on TV.

This film essentially harks back to the 40's and early 50's when big bands ruled the airwaves of popular music together with ballad singers like Denis Lotis and his ilk. However, by 1956, when this film was released, this type of easy listening music was being swept away by more exciting and vibrant sounds of rock 'n' roll. It was great to see the great band leader Ted Heath, but this film, even in 1956 must have had a very dated feel about it when it hit the cinemas, since teenagers had begun to buy, listen and dance to a completely different type of music! The story line about two music composers who hit upon the idea of playing music backwards, hoping it would prove to be a commercial success was frankly daft. George Cole and Terence Morgan are ill suited as the 'young men' thirsting for musical success, as they look like two very dull, middle - aged men in suits, who are totally unconvincing in their roles. The songs featured are lifeless and the dialogue is tedious! It might be ok to watch this film on a cold, rainy afternoon for purely reasons of nostalgia!

Terence Morgan and George Cole are a couple of songwriters who can't sell anything. After they make friends with beautiful, blonde Mylène Demongeot, with whom they share a clothes line, their record player breaks down and starts to play backwards. Convinced that all anyone wants these days is gimmicks, they invent a fictional composer and sell a backwards piece to music publisher James Hayter. As their relationship with each other and Mlle Demongeot collapses, their fictional composer's work takes the highbrow music scene by acclamation.

The big star in this movie is Ted Heath -- the band leader, not the Prime Minister -- who was near the peak of his popularity at this time. Some of the musical numbers are excellent, an attempt to produce a British musical on the order of Hollywood's stuff -- although one performance is choreographed like a Technicolor version of a Busby Berkeley piece from twenty years earlier. Third-billed Katheen Harrison is the screechy landlady for the boys, Jon Pertwee has a funny turn as a conductor, and Mlle Memongeot is fresh-faced and cute; I was surprised, as I was more accustomed to seeing her strapped to a ship's prow, trying to look sexy.

As the author of seven books on the Ted Heath Band, it's only to be expected that I would treasure this 1956 film, in which it has a strong presence. The band appears at its powerful best in an exciting sequence at Hammersmith Palais, playing 'Hawaiian War Chant', and also at recording sessions at the Decca Studios in London's Hampstead. But apart from being a wonderful record of the great days of the big bands, 'It's A Wonderful World' has plenty more to recommend it. 10/10 It's a fun film in which Ken Millar (George Cole) and Ray Thompson (Terence Morgan) - two struggling and unsuccessful songwriters - see their fortunes take a dramatic turn for the better when a beautiful French girl, Georgie Dubois (Mylene Nicole), moves next door to them. She takes a shine to one of their songs, and at the same time Ray scores a job as a rehearsal pianist - through which he secures Georgie an audition with Ted Heath. She ends up singing with his band at the Royal Variety performance, using one of Ray's melodies.

At the same time, Ken makes a bid for fame in the classical world, by playing Ted Heath's recorded version of 'D'ye ken John Peel' backwards, and claiming it to be a revolutionary work by an unknown composer Rimsikoff. It's all highly unlikely stuff but very entertaining, and it features plenty of the best known names in British film comedy in the 50's - Kathleen Harrison, James Hayter, Reginald Beckwith, Richard Wattis, Jon Pertwee and Sam Kydd.

Ted Heath vocalist Dennis Lotis plays himself in the film, singing a beautiful romantic ballad by Robert Farnon, 'A Few Kisses Ago' and two rousing up beat numbers 'Girls On My Mind' and 'Roseanne', both composed by Ted and Moira Heath - who also wrote the sweet and sentimental 'When You Came Along'. The latter should have been a hit, but in 1956 Bill Haley and Elvis Presley were rapidly eclipsing ballads and the rapid escalation of rock'n'roll in the charts was already underway. 'It's A Wonderful World' will take you back to the days of the big bands and big ballrooms - an era no doubt many still wish had never come to an end. If you weren't around in those days, I think you'll enjoy seeing what you missed, in particular meeting Ted Heath - a musical legend who made very rare appearances on film.

A classic feel good movie warmly recommended.