Summer Holiday
Release date: 1963-02-18
Votes: 39
Genres: Music, Romance
1960s musical showcasing Cliff Richard. Four bus mechanics working for London Transport strike up a deal with the company: they do up a one of the company's legendary red double decker buses and take it to southern Europe as a mobile hotel. If it succeeds, they will be put in charge of a whole fleet. While on the road in France they pick up three young British ladies whose car breaks down and offer to take them to their next singing job in Athens. They also pick up a stowaway, who hides the fact that she's a famous American pop star on the run, chased by the media and her parents.
Reviews
John Chard
Lets see if it's true. Summer Holiday is directed by Peter Yates who also co-writes the story and screenplay with Ronald Cass. It stars Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters, Melvyn Hayes and Una Stubbs. Story sees Richard and three pals take a red London double decker bus into Europe for their summer holiday. On the way their adventure will see them pick up some girls and an assortment of characters. Fun, frolics and songs follow. Light on plot but big on heart, Summer Holiday is well dated and cheesy but still carries with it enough charm to entertain the undemanding musical fan. Some lively sequences dot themselves throughout, but it's with the foot tapping tunes that the picture remains most memorable. Stand outs include the title track, Batchelor Boy and The Next Time, while the presence of The Shadows is also a bonus. It's unlikely to make big fans of first timers who didn't have it as part of their childhood, but for many the nostalgia factor more than compensates for its 101 formula. And of course for fans of the ever amiable Cliff Richard, film remains essential. 6.5/10
CinemaSerf
With the help of London Transport, "Don" (Cliff Richard) and three of his mechanic pals pick up an American runaway "Barbara/Bobby" (Lauri Peters) and they all set off in a double decker bus on a tour of Europe. Their's is not the daftest of ideas, either - the are going to use the bus as an hotel on wheels. Meantime, her wealthy and well-known mother "Stella" (Madge Ryan) is having a paddy and calling on the police to arrest these kidnappers. As they journey through the continent, they discover some quirky characters - they almost run over the mime artist "Orlando" (Ron Moody) - and that gives Cliff plenty of opportunity to burst into song. "Bachelor Boy" and the eponymous title track are probably the most famous, but there are plenty of other two-minuters to keep the toes tapping and to compensate for the not exactly Nobel standard of dialogue. The star oozes charisma here - it's easy to see why he was a teen pin-up, and he's well supported by the boisterous Peters and by a feast of familiar faces to British audiences like Melvyn Hayes, David Kossof, Una Stubbs and, of course, the always great with the eccentric Ron Moody. It's quite literally a light-hearted vehicle for a twenty-three year old popstar and taken in that vein is actually quite fun.
Movie Recommendation
On Her Majesty's Secret Service1969-12-18James Bond tracks his archnemesis, Ernst Blofeld, to a mountaintop retreat in the Swiss alps where he is training an army of beautiful, lethal women. Along the way, Bond falls for Italian contessa Tracy Draco, and marries her in order to get closer to Blofeld.More...
Surrogates2009-09-24Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.More...
Morvern Callar2002-11-01After her boyfriend commits suicide, a young woman attempts to use the unpublished manuscript of a novel and a sum of money he left behind to reinvent her life.More...
Oldboy2003-11-21With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.More...
The Godfather Part II1974-12-20In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.More...
GoodFellas1990-09-12The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.More...
The Grandmaster2013-01-10Ip Man's peaceful life in Foshan changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family's honor. After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family. In the mean time, Gong Er chooses the path of vengeance after her father was killed by Ma San.More...
The Green Mile1999-12-10A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.More...
Rear Window1954-08-01A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.More...
Apocalypse Now1979-05-19At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.More...
My Neighbor Totoro1988-04-16Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.More...
The Truman Show1998-06-04An insurance salesman begins to suspect that his whole life is actually some sort of reality TV show.More...
Amélie2001-04-25At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?More...
Citizen Kane1941-04-17Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.More...
Interstellar2014-11-05The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.More...
Pulp Fiction1994-09-10A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.More...
Gran Torino2008-12-12Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.More...
True Grit2010-12-22Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.More...
Django Unchained2012-12-25With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.More...
Fight Club1999-10-15A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.More...
Similar Movies
Not Mozart: Letters, ...
1991-01-01Letters, Riddles and Writs is a one act opera for television by Michael Nyman broadcast in 1991.Alô Alô Carnaval
1936-01-20Two authors go look for a business to finance their dream musical.The Story of Gilbert ...
1953-02-14The career of W. S. Gilbert, a barrister turned comic librettist, and Arthur Sullivan, a composer turned against his will to light music, who together wrote fifteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, to great public acclaim.To the Devil, with Lo...
1972-09-24On an island buffeted by storms, the seamen are confined with no desire to abandon the life by the sea. They spend days and nights drunk in the tavern. The young woman who serves them has one desire: to go far away. This sets the stage for a musical in the open, and will frame a story of love and adventure, reminiscent of the director's film Aoom.Carol
2015-11-20In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.The Enormity of Life
2021-04-06After a failed suicide attempt, a man receives a substantial inheritance from a long lost relative and meets a struggling single mom with an eccentric young daughter. Together they embark on a journey of self discovery and healing.The Pirates of Penzan...
2006-12-09As a young child, Frederic had been apprenticed to a pirate by mistake when he should have been apprenticed to a pilot. Now, having reached his 21st year, Frederic's indentures are at last over and he happily leaves the service of the pirates. When Frederic meets the beautiful Mabel, one of the many daughters (or wards in Chancery) of Major-General Stanley, they fall in love and decide to marry. However, complications arise when the pirates decide to marry the rest of the Major-General's daughters, themselves - and Frederic's birthdate turns out to be not all it seems. Opera Australia's 2006 rendition of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera.Six Pack
2011-01-01High school is almost over and four friends are going their separate ways as they go to college. But they have one more chance to spend some time together: Inspection 12, their favorite band, is playing one last concert in Jacksonville, FL.52Hz, I Love You
2017-01-26'Cape No. 7' director Wei Te-Sheng returns to his melodic roots with Taiwan's first musical, '52Hz, I Love You.'When You're Smiling
1950-08-30When You're Smiling is distinguished by the presence of several top recording artists of 1950. The wafer-thin plotline concerns the misadventures of Texan Gerald Durham (Jerome Courtland), who arrives in the Big City to learn the ropes of the music business. Durham not only ends up with a recording contract, but also wins heroine Peggy Martin (Lola Albright) in the bargain. So much for the story. The principal selling card of When You're Smiling consists of the guest-star turns by Frankie Laine, Bob Crosby, The Modernaires, The Mills Brothers, Kay Starr and Billy Daniels.Depeche Mode: 1980–81...
2006-04-03"Do We Really Have to Give Up Our Day Jobs?" - A documentary about the making of the album Speak & Spell, featuring interviews with the group including former band member Vince Clarke and other relevant personnel such as Daniel Miller. It features various vintage footage, such as appearances on Top of the Pops and BBC Speak & Spell Tour recordings.The Blues Brothers
1980-06-16Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.Lili Marleen
1981-01-14The story of a German singer named Willie, who while working in Switzerland, falls in love with a Jewish composer named Robert, whose family is helping people to flee from the Nazis. Robert’s family is skeptical of Willie, thinking she could be a Nazi as she becomes famous for singing the song “Lili Marleen”.Hit the Hay
1945-11-29An unsophisticated farm girl pursues a career as an opera singer.Where Do We Go from H...
1945-05-23Bill wants to join the Army, but he's 4F so he asks a wizard to help him, but the wizard has slight problems with his history knowlege, so he sends Bill everywhere in history, but not to WWII.Turandot
2022-08-18The curse of the darkness where the sun does not rise has fallen on the world, and Turandot, who has a cold heart, receives proposals from many men for his beautiful beauty. She comes up with three riddles as a condition for accepting the proposal, and anyone who fails to solve them turns to stone and dies. Calaf, the prince of the Balkan Kingdom, also solves her riddle and proposes... Turandot, a woman who does not believe in true love. Calaf, the only person who can move her heart. What will be the fate of the two?Cherry Pop
2017-09-22When Zaza, headliner of a weekly drag show, 'CHERRY POP', refuses to come out of her dressing room, all hell breaks loose backstage. A young newcomer, The Cherry, is hiding a huge secret from the girls while getting ready for his debut performance.Hum Dil De Chuke Sana...
1999-06-18A newly-wed man discovers that his wife is in love with another man and decides to unite them. Ignoring the ridicule he might have to face for this, he takes his wife to Italy in search of her love.Gruß und Kuss aus der...
1951-02-20There is no descriptionEine Nacht in Venedig...
1953-08-14There is great excitement in the Palazzo Urbino. Much to the delight of the ladies, the Duke, known as Don Juan, is expected. But the men of the city are less pleased by his arrival. Senator Delagua therefore decides to hide his beautiful wife in a convent and introduce the lady's maid to the Duke as his wife. When the Duke's valet devises a ruse of his own, the complications seem endless.