Every Day's a Holiday

Every Day's a Holiday is a Cliff Richard musical without the Bachelor Boy himself.

It even has Ron Moody and Richard O'Sullivan who appeared in some Cliff Richard musicals.

Freddie and the Dreamers play some crazy cooks, in essence they take on the role of the Shadows.

The story involves a group off teens taking a job at a holiday resort and take part in a talent competition that will be televised.

Gerry Pullman has fallen for a girl but find himself dealing with a rival. The story is flimsy and silly.

The film is a little too cheesy and a bit of its time period. There is mirror scene where Gerry riffs Frank Sinatra but the Al Jolson scene is unfortunate. The cinematography is by Nicolas Roeg which is a plus for the movie.

It also has too many songs and they are rather forgettable, unlike say the songs in Summer Holiday.

However it does have some interesting dance numbers from choreographer Gillian Lynne.

John Leyton's father worked like a dog to keep him in school, but while waiting for his proposed career to begin, he's trying to break into show business as a singer. He applies to a holiday camp, and gets the job -- as a children's entertainer. Disappointed but game, he struggles, making friends with the other young people working there, hoping for a break.

It's one of those British musicals of the early 1960s with every sort of pop music from music hall to blackfaced performer, all the way up to the early stages of what would become acid rock, in a series of performances that take up almost half of the movie's 94 minutes. The staging of the musical numbers varies from straightforward to expansive in the hands of choreographer Gillian Lynne and DP Nicholas Roeg, and the cast includes Ron Moody as an Italian singing teacher, sort of, Liz Fraser as a good-hearted secretary, Nicholas Parsons, and Michael Ripper. I don't recall any of the songs making their way across the Atlantic, but the variety and competence of most of them made watching this one a pleasant experience.

A feather-light musical comedy involving a group of college kids who enter a talent contest at a summer resort. Grazina Frame sings a catchy song called "1st time bitten, 2nd time shy," the Baker twins sing a fluffy piece of nonsense called "Romeo Jones," and Freddie & The Dreamers make an appearance singing "Don't do that to me." Anyone who enjoyed sitting through the likes of "Having a wild weekend" and "Ferry cross the mersey" should enjoy this one as well.

Despite the hype at the time of its release, this musical offering was never particularly good and, if you are expecting to hear any classic sixties tracks, then go and buy a CD. For the most part the music consists of numbers which you would be disappointed to find on the 'B' side of a single. The dancing is similarly uninspired - the usual (for the time) jumping up and down and from side to side with arms outstretched, rather like a manic aerobics session. The love triangle and older versus younger generation plot is simplistic. The acting is variable with stalwarts such as Ron Moody, Liz Fraser and Michael Ripper there to balance the less able pop artistes. However, as a piece of sixties nostalgia,particularly with its holiday camp setting, the film is well worth a look and Freddie and the Dreamers are always value for money.

This is cross between Hard Day's Night and Summer Holiday which does nothing to threaten the dominance of either in the British 60's rock 'n' romance genre. I'll let others explain the finer points of casting and score. What I find so fascinating about "Seaside Swingers" is the bewildered holiday camp extras who thought they were going to have an uneventful and typically overcast two weeks at one of Butlin's more drab properties and ended up unwitting props in a third rate musical comedy about some rather aged looked teenagers trying to make a splash in the prepubescent world of rock 'n' roll.

The holiday camp must be seen to be believed. Americans will find it unbelievable that people actually spent the only two weeks they got each year going to what amounted to an overcrowded compound where the only entertainment was guessing how far apart the family would have to sit from each other in the "canteen" or large feeding area (which features prominantly in this film). The chalets referred to by the campers were extremely small motel-style rooms which were your base of operations at the camp.

For a real soak in the British invasion style this is just the ticket but fast forward through the "Crazy Horse Saloon" number. It's atrocious.