The Young Ones

I went to see this movie back in 1961 when it was first released, and I saw it at a special Midnight Matinée with Cliff Richard on stage in person at the end of the film. He was also in the lobby afterwards. A pleasant enough musical, the title song is sung at Ruisip Lido which was a popular summer venue in the 1960's. It is still there (2014)but swimming is no longer allowed. The theater where the young ones put on their show really was the Finsbury Park Empire which was designed by Frank Matcham a famous British theater architect,the building was standing empty having closed in 1960, the theater was demolished in 1965.So if you are into old theatres the movie serves as a reminder of that building. Some of the dance routines remind one of West Side Story. Although the film was in Cinemascope ratio it did not have stereo sound which is a pity for a musical. Robert Morley plays the part of Cliffs father well and it is fun to see Robert doing a dance routine near the end of the movie. If you like musicals you will probably enjoy this film as long as you do not expect it to be like a big Hollywood production.

This movie was made when this was what people were watching. Full of fun young people doing fun things. I love looking at the fashion and t he dancing. Cliff Richard was so cute back in the early days. The ketches on the stage are cute and there is enough of a plot to make it more than just another movie to star a famous band. Yes the shadows are awesome but they only add to it not steal they show. As for predictable...so what! Most movies today are predicable in some way. So don't let anyone sway you from not experiencing this movie, make you own opinion. Enjoy the movie for what it is and don't over examine it. The Young Ones was one of my faves when I was a teenager and still is today.

Before the Beatles came along to personify post World War II British music there was a battle between Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard as the top pop boy singer of the United Kingdom. Both these guys like Elvis Presley did some films that were tailored to the image they projected and this one The Young Ones suits Richard's clean cut image. Unlike the Beatles who had those Liverpudlian accents that took a bit of getting used to when they spoke, Richard's was a clear and proper diction.

Almost as precise as Robert Morley's who plays Richard's tycoon business father. It's almost like a Frank Capra film with the generations battling each other until the young one teaches the old one to be cool.

Morley is building a huge office building and the youth club that Richard belongs to is targeted for demolition. With no place for his pals to hang out the younger ones decide to use that tried and true method handed down from Mickey and Judy, put on a show.

The plot of course is just an excuse for Richard and his back up band The Shadows to perform a lot of numbers, some good ones too. That opening sequence was quite cleverly done using almost the whole city of London as a backdrop. Richard is a pleasing performer and he's given a good opportunity to display his wares.

As an actor not that good especially when stacked up against Robert Morley who looks like he's having a great old time as the Scrooge like father. But the numbers are staged well and this is a film that really shows London at the turn of the 60s.

I watched this film not long after it was released and even then it felt cheesy and dated! The thing that screams out after recently watching it again, was that sadly Cliff was no actor and was a limited dancer. The flimsy storyline and the wooden acting makes it very much a 'B' film. The dialogue is all a bit too 'sugary' and 'golly gosh' let's put on a show and damn the consequences.' I remember seeing a similar but much older film, 'Strike up the Band,' with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, Its in the same type of genre but 'The Young Ones,' lack the sparkle and energy of a Garland and Rooney! 'The Young Ones' tries too hard to to project the younger characters as innocents, who are out to to prove that the adults, like Robert Morley are 'fuddy duddies' - but all they simply achieve is to show how clueless and naive they really are. It would have been far better to have dispensed with Melvyn Hayes and Cliff's other unfunny sidekicks, and allowed the 'Shadows' to have had real speaking parts where Cliff could have played off the characters like Jet Harris and Hank Marvin, musicians he knew so well. As it was, Cliff gives a feeble, limp and lack lustre performance, and with corny gags and the contrived storyline, it all makes for a tedious experience.

Cliff Richard stars in The Young Ones, or Wonderful to be Young, from 1961, also starring Robert Morley, Carole Gray, and The Shadows.

This is a typical teenage movie with the "Hey, kids, let's put on a show" theme. The kids in this case are British, and their club is being closed due to the sale of the building for a high-rise. What no one knows is the developer, Hamilton Black (Robert Morley) is none other than the father of Nicky (Cliff Richard). Nicky, of course, works on behalf of his cronies but his back always goes out when they have to meet with the old man.

There's a renewal clause in the master lease, but Black is a good chess player - they can renew, but it's going to cost them 1500 pounds, a princely sum, up front. The kids decide to raise the money by putting on a show.

Like "Summer Holiday," "The Young Ones" is an exuberant, tuneful teen movie, with lots of singing and dancing. Richard doesn't force his acting - he says his lines in a natural manner, and his looks and charm do the rest. His early inspiration was Elvis, and some of his singing is definitely Elvis-like. But it's a different voice and persona -- he's a very smooth singer and his boyish handsomeness, unlike Elvis', is very nonthreatening. I can't imagine anyone breaking his records or coming out against him in a pulpit.

This is a very fun film. One can't help being impressed by Richard's longevity - 55 years later, he still looks great, he's still singing, and he's a Sir. He's almost Elvis-lite, a pop icon without the demons that caused us to lose Elvis all too soon.