Los astronautas del ritmo

Somebody, somewhere, in 1966, got the idea to make a movie featuring the English rock-n-roll band Herman's Hermits. That somebody should be interrogated at length. This movie was obviously a crass attempt to cash in on the evolving music phenomena of Merseybeat and its earth-shaking success, "Beatlemania." The curious thing is that the music of Herman's Hermits was certainly unique, then, and remains enjoyable now. Imagine hearing rock-n-roll music that actually has melodic structure, played by young men with no residue of anger or 'angst.' Imagine that.

The plot is tissue paper thin. In fact, it is as if the script was written with invisible ink. The whole "we're gonna get a rocket named after us" theme is just plain ... screwball. It would be nice if the comedic elements in this movie could be called "screwball." But that isn't really what's going on here ....

In 1966 there were no "infomercials" on television. That was a concept dreamed up later, when independent TV stations and then cable networks found that they had time they could sell for these thirty-minute repeatable information commercials. However, "Hold On" seems to double as an extended commercial for the band.

So there's the story of this movie: "Hold On" seems to have been cloned from a "beach blanket bingo" template, being as it is set in California and there's just oodles of opportunities for pretty young things to cavort in the bikini suits of the day. How clever.

Being a fan of the music of the 1960's, I found this 'confection' to be very pleasing, even if overloaded with sugar and syrup.

Merseybeat and the "English invasion" of the 1960s was most assuredly an epochal event in the musical culture of the United States, and what is so strange, is that both the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and some other amazingly successful bands of that time began by listening to American music, 'rhythm & blues,' to be specific, and reinterpreted some of the great popular music of that genre into what later came to be called "Blue-eyed Soul." It remains one of the great mysteries of sociology as to why Merseybeat and the English invasion was so perfectly right for American pop culture in those years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and before the turmoil caused by the Viet Nam conflict. But then, there were many mysteries abounding in the 1960s.

The Hermits never really passed the final examination for inclusion in that august group of English rockers who re-made rock-n-roll music, but they had a strange and distinctive sound. This movie is fun for that reason, and for "eye candy," as in Shelley Fabares.

"Hold On" is cotton candy film making. But the music still rocks ... sweetly and gently ....

Herman's Hermits is visiting America on a tour and hi-jinx ensues. After the success of the Beatles, I'm sure every British band would aim to follow in their footsteps. Some actually got their films made. For that, Herman's Hermits needs to be congratulated but it does not make them the Beatles. Quite frankly, they falter by the comparison. They don't have as much charisma. They should be the stars in every frame of this movie but they're not. While they're the leads, they aren't really leading. They're being led. They're not the drivers of their own train. The story is all wrong. The guys need to have most of the dialogue and be constantly on screen. If not, then what's the point.

I recently saw Hold On! on TCM in wide screen format and I liked it. It helps to be a fan of 1960s British music, as Hermans Hermits are featured. I guess this was their answer to the Beatles movies of that era. The plot is crazy and the acting is fair at best, but there was enough music and foolishness to keep me interested. A good example of a 1960s pop music movie.

British pop group Herman's Hermits land in Los Angeles to play the Rose Bowl, but what they really want to do is see the sights and meet some girls "to talk to". They're pursued by a scientist collecting data on the band for NASA, who are thinking of using the group's moniker on the new spaceship, a would-be actress who wants to link her name with theirs to generate publicity, and a blonde Shelley Fabares who wants the group to perform at her mother's charity event at the snooty Ocean Club. The Hermits sing many hookless tunes, one of which is entitled "A Must To Avoid", which may well have served as this film's subtitle. Although Southern California looks lovely (like a big, shiny department store), there's no satirical wit in the writing, and Herman's Hermits have no personality, no distinction, and no charisma. Fabares gets the only good song, "Make Me Happy", and her sweetly out-of-it presence is a nice distraction to the screaming teenage fans, who are mostly shot swarming from below the knees. *1/2 from ****

In its brief vogue of popularity, Herman's Hermits tried to keep the bubblegum popularity of the Beatles after the Beatles and the rest of the culture went psychedelic and counterculture. In that they were successful as long as the vogue for them lasted. Even today lead singer Peter Blair Dennis No one enjoys a lot of popularity on the nostalgia circuit among his aging fans.

Some have said that Hold On! is a ripoff of A Hard Day's Night and it follows that pattern to some degree. Actually it's more like an extended version of a Monkey's television show. And down to today you can still see pop groups still using this model, just look at the Jonas Brothers television series on the Disney Channel.

In a whirlwind tour of the USA, Herman's Hermits becomes the victims of a publicity seeking actress played by Sue Ane Langdon, they get a NASA rocket named for them, and No one gets himself involved with young society girl Shelley Fabares whose mother has bought the Hermits for one of her society charity events. Some of these things don't quite come off as well as the others.

The aging fans of Herman's Hermits will remember Hold On! with nostalgia. What the film does lack is any of the identifiable songs from the boys back in the day. The score is hardly that of A Hard Day's Night or even Help!. But the film is a pleasant enough diversion and I don't think those who watch it are expecting too much.