Trois petits tours et puis s'en vont

I'm a big fan of 60's British music and films and this quirky if slight movie marries both in a peppy attempt to show how swinging England got its nickname.

Of course it's dated greatly particularly its attitudes towards sex and by extension women, but it retains a bright playfulness, backed up by enthusiastic acting from its mostly young cast. Mind you Barry Evans and Judy Geeson aren't quite Tom Courteney and Julie Christie, and a lot of the scenes seem pretty meaningless, but driven by Evans' to-camera pieces from the outset and taking in some other tricksy pseudo-surrealistic dream sequences, flashy camera work, a touch of farce here, a touch of orgy there, while its attractions are a mite thin, at least they're just about present and correct.

The story itself amounts to little more than Evans' trying to get his end away, moving ever steadily up the ladder of the local female population in pursuit of his dream girl Judy Geeson, to learn that she has the same outlook towards men as him, only her dream doesn't stop with him. By the movie's end our fresh-faced hero is just about ready to settle down, bewitched by a beguiling smile from a young Diane Keen, at the age of it seems 18 or 19 at most.

The film is shot in a bright clear fashion, with contemporary pop music prominent in the background - Traffic's title song is ace and gets a few airings throughout. It was funny to see practically all the leads in the popular early 70's sit-com "Doctor at Large" in frame at one point - one almost expected James Robertson-Justice to barge in on the odd scene! There's a mildly surprising frolicsome nude scene between Evans and Geeson near the end, but in truth this is only a little more surprising than seeing Geeson in long trousers just before it - every other female in the film is apparently wearing a mini-skirt.

So then, while being far from the best of the British pop-art cinema of its time, it retains an odd, slightly endearing attraction to the likes of me, who just missed out on being a teen in the 60's. Based on the evidence here, it looks as if it was this generation and not its predecessor that never had it so good (and you can interpret "it" any way you like!)

I remember when this movie was being made, I was working on another movie at the time with Sheila White, & like everybody at the time went to see it in the hope that I could identify with it. Although a good story & well acted by all in the movie it lacked something. It should have been shot in London & maybe then it would have captured more of the spirit of the time. What it does have however is a good example of youth growing up & the adventure that the male lead goes on. I still watch this film every year & I wouldn't be without a copy. It has become an essential part of the epoch that it represents with some very funny scenes, notably Capable Caroline & her family where Jamie spends a weekend. Judy Geeson has the female lead & she looked great, I worked with her many years later & we talked about the movie. She told me how the director held her hand in the rushes theatre the day they watched the nude scenes & we laughed, he seemed rather anxious as to what I would think about it, she said. Over all I like the film & it is a must have.

Here is a 92 minute delight. I recall seeing this film advertised in the 60's & wanting to see it & missed it! So it was with great pleasure I recently acquired a tape & watched it for the first time in 2006! Was any youth as innocent as the kids depicted here? Likely the culture in 1966-67 when this film was released was less innocent. Certainly in the US, where Anti-war demonstrations were growing. But there is no hint of that here, no "gangs", no bad behavior over football, no drugs. Just the Boy wanting the Girl. Barry Evans & Judy Geeson are wonderful as Boy & Girl. The film is famous for some psychedelic scenes, and daring nudity, photographed wonderfully, but it really should be remembered for the light hearted romp it so expertly provides. The 1968 Film review in the NY Times noted the photography but was less enamored with the script. Perhaps seeing it then in the US, when more serious issues so affected youth, Viet Nam, the draft, war, body bags, the reviewers could not forgive the light hearted banter that is so much of the Barry Evans character. Yet that itself I find makes the period the film is trying to depict come very much alive nearly 40 years later. The film is highly entertaining, delightful and well worth seeing for the fresh talent and open eyed wonder of Barry Evans and the delightful young Judy Geeson. Here is a film that ought to be brought out on DVD.A whole generation or two might benefit seeing a more innocent time, and how nice it was then, minus the assorted horrors we now live with!

This film is a gem of the mid to late 60's but, at times, difficult to watch as the innocence portrayed by it's warm optimism jars with the reality of these times. I grew up in the 60's and saw that era in the fresh-faced tone of the film. 'Mulberry Bush' takes me back to a childhood Neverneverland. Was life so innocent even in those days? I like to think so but I'm pretty sure it wasn't. The problems we face today have always been with us so I am mystified how even in 1968 it was possible to make a film with such a tenuous grip on life's day to day realities. This film is magical escapism. I was eleven in 1968 and the scene of the three friends boisterously mucking around while walking home is poignant to me since that was my childhood. Suspend cynicism when watching it

I was 16 in 1968.

I read Hunter Davies' original novel when it first came out, and Jamie was me. I couldn't wait for the film.

And I wasn't disappointed. Full of humour, full of great music, full of the things which were real and important to a late 60s teen and, most of all, full of heart.

Current audiences may find it a touch unsophisticated but then, we all thought we were but we weren't!

Barry Evans sadly never really lived up to the promise he showed in this film, and then died far too young. But if this film was his sole epitaph, it's a good one.