Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter

This movie has some fun scenes and I enjoyed some of the character actors, but it never finds a narrative drive to make it fully engaging. Still, I like seeing pieces of swinging London, as well as the parts of England that weren't swinging at all. My favorite bit is when Peter No one is running about looking for the missing Mrs. Brown, and the rest of the Hermits jam on a somewhat psychedelic number in front of a bunch of hippies grooving to the beat. It was almost like the Hermits were playing the UFO Club. Early on the advertising scenes were sort of funny but the film never follows through with this part of the story which seemed typical of the film as a whole.

By 1968 Herman's Hermits had become passe to their teenybopper fans, so it is not a surprise that this picture was barely released. It was one of the last of a subgenre of building a movie around a British Invasion musical group. Mrs Brown in this case was a greyhound that the band try to make into a racing champ. The redoubtable Stanley Hollaway provides some professionalism as the band's wealthy sponsor. And he just happens to have a daughter that Peter Noone takes a shine to. Do you think she will toss off her arrogant fashion photographer boyfriend to be with Noone? If you don't know the answer to that one , you haven't seen too many movies! Still this has some nice color photography and it's always amusing to see Hollywood's idea of "hippies" from the late 60's.

I have always loved Herman's Hermits, and I really liked this movie. I don't suppose that I would have liked it when it first came out because it would have been bunched in with all of the other `rock' musicals of it's time, trying to compete for the `young' in-crowd. Nevertheless, as I look at it now, I see it as a charming film from another era.

The plot itself is very interesting and different. It is not your typical `garage band goes to the big city and gets discovered' type of film. They are looking for fame and fortune by way of the champion Greyhound, Mrs. Brown. The rock band thing was just a side interest in this film, much different from other rock musicals of its time. Other `rock' star films of that era were used merely as a publicity showcase for the band to play their music. This film actually had a decent story with some music in it.

The cinematography was fabulous in this film. If for anything at all, you should watch it for this aspect alone. I enjoyed the whole film, but the ending was a bit vague. I was able to figure it out after a while, but it jumped from scene to scene without smooth transitions of ideas.

I'd never heard of this film before TCM started screening it as a late night filler - and initially woke up in the middle of it when Holloway and co were singing the poignant and totally unexpected The World is for the Young. I actually couldn't get the song out of my head for several days.

After that I kept stumbling across bits of it on different screenings and each time I said to my wife "I kinda like this movie" Tonight I finally managed to watch it from the start and although as a film it doesn't really amount to much it's such a good natured, sweet and enjoyably off kilter movie that it just makes me feel good to see it.

I wanted to see what other people thought and it seems a few reviewers do get it - whereas some others seem to get strangely vindictive and offended.

Yes it's completely out of jaunt with it's year and the Hermits were anachronisms by 1968 but Peter No one (I tried to make his surname come out correct) is perfectly fine in the lead, the supporting cast is great, the brightly coloured widescreen is a pleasure to the eyes.

Guilty pleasure or not I've really warmed to this.

"Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter," was filmed two years too late to have any real box office success in the US.

Then again, it wasn't anything like the loopy, goofy, rollicking Brit Invasion silliness associated with their 1966 MGM film, "Hold On." The people who expected "Hold On Again" are totally clueless about this film.

This was a small, simple, charming decidedly very British film that probably wasn't intended for much of an American release. I never saw it until a few years ago when it was on Turner Classic Movies.

The group's hits dried up here in 1967. No hits in a year was a big deal that usually meant the end of the ride. However, the group continued to hit the charts quite nicely in the UK and Europe (as the Kinks did before their American comeback in 1969). This film was for them.

And if any Americans appreciate it, all the better! It is a nice quaint little film with nice little ditties.