Whilst I do like to try and keep up to date with the new films that are released each year, I also make it a point to try and revisit classic films that I’ve either never seen before or that I havent seen for many years. Of course its impossible to keep up with everything I want to see but I do my very best! One of the classic films that I caught up with (again) recently was 1961’s The Young Ones from director Sidney J Furie which has just been remastered and released by the wonderful team over at Studiocanal on bluray as part of theyr Vintage Classics range.. Now I hadn’t seen The Young Ones since the last 80s when my Aunt introduced me to that film on VHS. I will admit that Im not the biggest fan of musicals but there are a few musicals that I ‘like’ and The Young Ones is one of them.
The plot is simple and it doesn’t need to be anything other than than that. The Young Ones is such an easy film to watch, there’s not a ton of thinking needed and that’s wonderful, the cast and crew have created this film for our entertainment and entertain they do! The Young Ones plot involved a group of youths who are about to lose their clubhouse and must raise £1500 to save their building from demolition by an unscrupulous developer. Even nowadays in the 21st of century £1500 isn’t easy to find, so in 1961 when the film it set, the friends see this as a major challenge.They come up with the idea to put on a show and in order to publicize this without any money for advertising they record a song and broadcast it via pirate radio announcing the vocalist of the song as the “Mystery Singer” Will the ploy work? well if it didn’t then you wouldnt have a movie but thats not the real point of the film, the point of this film is to entertain the audience and it does does that! (even to this non-musical fan)
The cast is great too headlined of course by pop music legend Cliff Richard (Summer Holiday, Wonderful Life) and instrumental rock band The Shadows (Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, Tony Meehan) also in the cast list is veteran actor Robert Morley (The African Queen, Oscar Wilde), Carole Gray (The Cool Mikado), Richard O’Sullivan (Man About the House, Robin’s Nest), and Melvyn Hayes (Summer Holiday, Carry On series).
Director Sidney J. Furie (The Ipcress File, The Naked Runner, Lady Sings the Blues) has done a fantastic job on this film and proves yet again that there isnt a genre he can tackle. The film looks glorious too and thats thanks to Douglas Slocombe (The Lion in Winter, The Servant).
The bluray and DVD comes with a small amount of special features too which give a further insight into the film There is ‘That’s Showbusiness’ a short featurette (runs for 16 minutes) with actor Melvyn Hayes’ where we get his take on the film, and exclusive behind the scenes footage with commentary by legendary stuntman Rocky Taylor (Titanic, Mission Impossible, Skyfall) on his first ever job (this featurette runs for 7 minutes) , this new edition of British pop cinema classic The Young Ones is not to be missed! and once again , ill remind you that generally im not a musical fan but I still had a blast with film and once the film was over, I realised that I had brightened up my day with this 60s gem
So If you’re looking for a cheerful, feel-good film full of catchy songs, likeable characters and old-fashioned optimism, The Young Ones remains a delightful watch over sixty years after its release. It serves as a reminder that sometimes the simplest stories can be the most enjoyable, and that a little innocence and positivity never go out of style.
Directed by Sidney J.Furie
UK Blu-Ray premiere
& DVD on 29th June
