Dateline Diamonds

I'm not sure if the Chantelles, Kiki Dee and the Small Faces had the same record company, but you could easily be forgiven for thinking so as they feature substantially amongst this otherwise rather poor diamond heist caper with William Lucas as "Maj. Fairclough" who ropes the heavily indebted Kenneth Cope ("Benson") who manages the Small Faces, into a diamond smuggling racket using the famous "Big L" pirate radio ship as their conduit to Rotterdam. The performances - especially an early one from Kiki Dee are all this has going for it - and that's not really saying much. The sheer silliness of the last half hour as the police close in on their safecracker tests even the most enthusiastic supporter of serendipity in a police investigation. If you are a fan of 1960s pop culture, then it might just be worth watching but otherwise...

I've just been watching this on Sky Matinée Movies. I am astonished to find a very young Kenny Everett and other Radio London DJs in this film, as well as the Faces, before they were joined by Rod Stewart. Radio London, for those who can't remember the glory days of UK Offshore Radion was THE Pirate Station which nurtured not only Kenny Everett, but also John Peel etc etc. According to the cast list, Tony Windsor is also there. Worth watching for the nostalgia and all those lovely 1960s memories! I forget the plot, but as a historical record, you can't beat it!. So sad that after his wonderfully inventive Radio Days, on both Radio London with the Kenny and Cash programme, and later with the BBC, over-exposure on TV destroyed Kenny.

An otherwise nifty heist caper... with an agenda to promote the British band SMALL FACES... has two fitting actors, old and young, both having starred in several crime b-pictures, beginning with William Lucas, who played every incarnation of criminal... from cold-blooded to cowardly from THE BREAK to CALCULATED RISK to PAYROLL... and the intensely vulnerable Kenneth Cope from JUNGLE STREET, THE CONVICT and THE DAMNED...

Herein, Cope is the crooked manager of the band, and Lucas has his number... an intense actor never using costumes but here he resembles Inspector Clouseau if originally cast Peter Ustinov played him more straight, and his anti-chemistry with the younger Cope works surprisingly well... yet they mostly work together by remaining apart...

One scene shows Lucas stealing the diamonds, practically in real-time, step-by-step for a suspenseful ten-minutes where it seems anything can happen, especially with detective duo Conrad Phillips and George Mikell garnering more sporadic screen-time than the first-billed crooks: but what's supposed to matter is a rushed ending where the band plays a song or two, and the previous dirty work means nothing...

A shame because the terrifically pulpy-titled DATELINE DIAMONDS ultimately wastes a potentially good villain AND cop duo, entangled in an interesting plot... all so a music group could get a number one hit, which never panned-out: at least not because of this mostly forgotten programmer.

You're unlikely to come across this movie unless you're a) a big fan of the Small Faces, b) a connoisseur of British B-pictures, or c) an insomniac. However, should an opportunity to see DATELINE DIAMONDS present itself to you, there are worse ways to spend an hour and a half, such as watching Birmingham City FC.

The plot manages to encompass diamond smuggling, '60s music, international police co-operation, safe-cracking, pirate radio, and the frantic plugging of as many different bands as the running time would permit.

There is the customary fun to be had spotting various British actors and actresses although I, as a David Hemmings fan, was disappointed to discover he wasn't in it (unless it was literally a blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearance). There is also quite a well detailed sequence where the chief bounder breaks into a safe in, where else, Hatton Garden.

There's a song in this i wish I could get on cd first taste of love by rey Anton love this film l was 4 when it came out I got it on DVD they should have had a soundtrack released love all the pirate radio scenes as I love sixties music love a lot of these great sixties musicals great all star cast kenneth cope William lucks patsy Rowlands just three of the great cast the chantells and a great early appearance of Kiki dee