Rock On Film

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“The Girl Can’t Help It” (1956)

This week, “Mamma Mia!” has been on the receiving end of a deserved critical mauling. ABBA songs crow-barred into a ropey, wafer-thin – and dubiously misogynistic – “story”. Pierce Brosnan’s useless “singing”. Who needs it? As if “ABBA: The Movie” wasn’t shoddy enough. That 1977 film plumbed the depths of dullness, following the misfortunes of a journalist as he chases the Swedes around Australia hoping to secure an interview. Like so many rock biopics, it is confused, and lacking confidence in its subject. It’s only with the recent achievements of “Dig!” and “Control” that rock biopics have really found their feet, and Don Letts deserves some credit here for having been an innovator in this area. Let’s have a look then, at some other celluloid approaches to rock and pop. It’s rare that a rock film manages to be wholeheartedly entertaining, but this doesn’t seem to dissuade studios from bankrolling them all the same. Back in the mid fifties, aged rocker Bill Haley featured in “Rock Around The Clock”, but that was really a long-form music promo. It was “The Girl Can’t Help It” which really ushered in the rock flick era. Its plot was too flimsy and downright stupid to be worth relating here but it did feature performances by Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Julie London, Little Richard and Eddie Cochran all in glorious colour. Its use of cinemascope also made it something of an “event” picture. Remember, this is fifty-two years ago, when Sarah Jessica-Parker was only…well about fifteen years old, probably. Oddly the English rock and roll film efforts, which followed in its wake, now seem more compelling and exciting. “Expresso Bongo” (1959), which featured a youthful Cliff Richard, is tremendous. Cliff plays a teen singer called Bert Rudge who listens to the advice of his manager, realises he’ll never have a hit with a name like that, and changes it to erm, Bongo Herbert. The mood, feel and soundtrack of the film are terrific though – you can almost smell the Brillcreem. It’s easily the best of Cliff’s films, and it is in fact better than any of Elvis’ better-known movie efforts. It captures pre-Beatles British pop beautifully.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A06eeIHKcbA]
“Play It Cool” (1962)

Almost as good is the Billy Fury vehicle “Play It Cool” (1962). Once again “plot” is an irrelevance here, see it for evidence that Fury was the greatest British rock ‘n’ roller of them all. It was directed by Michael Winner and the musical direction was by Norrie Paramor – the man behind hits by Cliff Richard, Frank Ifield, Helen Shapiro, Billy Fury and Shane Fenton (later Alvin Stardust) some of whom appear in the film. It might be a footnote to pop history now, but that just makes it all the more intriguing. Enough has probably already been written about The Beatles’ excellent filmic endeavours so we’ll pass over them here. Without them however, we certainly wouldn’t have had The Monkee’s TV series, and thus would have been robbed of the superb 1968 film “Head” – wherein the boys roam through a deeply surreal and unsettling world created by Jack Nicholson (yes that one) and director Bob Rafelson. Aside from some truly gorgeous music (Goffin and King’s head-spinning “Porpoise Song” and “As We Go Along” being perhaps the highlights), it has lots of self-deprecating humour (“Well whaddayaknow! If it isn’t God’s gift to the eight year olds!”), dark references to the Vietnam war and a cameo by Frank Zappa with a talking cow. It’s a long way from Cliff Richard and Una Stubbs on a double-decker bus.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJizIIs783Q]
“Head” (1968)

Some people admire Pete Townsend’s forays into rock opera. The Who’s film “Tommy” is perennially popular, but any “deep’n’meaningful” message which may lurk in there is cancelled out by some moments of supreme daftness. Which takes us to Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains The Same”. I appreciate that Led “Zep” are considered to be about the most important and influential rock band to ever have refused to release a single, but I must admit I find their supposed “mysticism”, leather breeches and curly strutting to be faintly pathetic. The concert footage, filmed during their time touring “Houses Of The Holy” is alright if you like that sort of thing, but the “fantasy” sequences are rather hilarious. Robert Plant, in soft focus, on horseback! John Paul Jones, also in soft focus and on horseback!! Jimmy Page, in soft focus, on a rugged, snowy, mountain!!! John Bonham, in soft focus (what was the problem here, wrinkles? Surely not…), larking about his country estate in a vintage car!!!! All palpable nonsense of course, but hey, that’s showbiz.

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“Take It Or Leave It” (1981)

Madness’ 1981 biopic “Take It Or Leave It” is more fun. It recounts the story of how the band emerged from the primordial slime of the Dublin Castle in Camden to become perhaps the UK’s biggest pop group. The plot unfolds via a canny combination of some truly terrible “acting” and studio and concert footage. What it does do, though, is vividly capture something of youth culture in 1981. It’s uncannily like those early British rock and roll films in that regard – and a world away from “The Song Remains The Same”. If you’ve been intrigued by all this talk of rubbish acting, plotlessness, surreal whimsy and pretentious claptrap, then Pet Shop Boys’ 1988 flop film “It Couldn’t Happen Here” is a must. I’d tell you what it’s about but even having seen it umpteen times I’m afraid I’m none the wiser. Perversely though, it is rather good. Chris Lowe apparently wanted the film’s tagline to be “A Wank Of Epic Proportions”. That’s a concise enough description. It’s available in full through Google Video so you can judge for yourself.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0agwWPljY0]
“Stardust” (1974)

Finally, a word about the greatest film about rock ever, which is “Stardust”, a film from 1974, and sequel to the almost as good “That’ll Be The Day”, starring David Essex as a wannabe rock star whose life is in disarray. He goes through every rock star cliché going – groupies, drugs, relationship strains, dodgy business deals, bad advice and financial ruin. Just look at the cast; David Essex, Adam Faith, Keith Moon, Marty Wilde, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe – even JR out of Dallas, Larry Hagman, turns up as a horrid manager. It’s a very dark film, touching on the industry’s sexism (women, in this film, are usually groupies) and it’s one of the few rock films that seems to be eager to make a point. Its message: the music business is sleazy, wretched and morally corrupt and preys on those dreamers who want so much to make the leap from fandom to having a piece of the action for themselves. Steve Brookstein probably watches it and cries. This film is wholeheartedly entertaining, and even sort of profound.