Summer Holiday
Published September 6, 2019
Film info
- Title Summer Holiday
- Director Peter Yates
- Year 1963
- Run time 1hr 48m
- Genres Romance, Music
- Tagline From the first kiss to the last blush, it's the craziest riot on wheels!
Four London bus mechanics strike up a deal with London Transport. They do up a London bus and drive it around Europe as a hotel. British filmmaker Peter Yates directs singer Cliff Richard in the starring role in this pop music romp. The cast includes the real rock group The Shadows.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:13 | Yay, raining on your summer holiday, so true. |
| 3:56 | I don’t think Transport for London would lend them a bus these days, but I like it. |
| 4:54 | When he asked, they wanted no part of it, but when he sung it, the entire garage was on board. |
| 6:04 | It’s a bit like Challenge Anneka. |
| 8:04 | Shadow spotting! |
| 16:40 | Forgot how kidnappy this song was, but I guess it all works out in the end. |
| 17:35 | “Load the bus boys, here we come.” |
| 22:35 | That’s like trying to get Mr C out of the pub. Needs more netting. |
| 31:40 | “A star must work and work and work.” |
| 38:24 | Oldest hitchhiking trick in the book. |
| 42:19 | “Tourists can be many things.” |
| 49:12 | I do question whether they could rig up a wire in ten minutes. |
| 55:06 | “At this speed even I can’t see us.” |
| 57:40 | Who took the fishing rod out of the bus to make it lighter? Madness! |
| 1:09:49 | Anything for a rhyme but seriously, cowses? |
| 1:18:28 | Cliff’s string vest is an interesting look. |
| 1:22:33 | How did the men think they were going to feed themselves all week if every time food is mentioned they look to the women to do it? |
| 1:23:49 | “Your enemies don’t sing to you, do they?” |
| 1:33:45 | Uh oh, the Daily Mail. |
| 1:35:40 | “If you’d caught your train, you’d be working now instead of facing a kidnap charge.” I’d say that warrants an apology. |
| 1:43:32 | “There are two sides to every question.” Are there? Story, yes, question though? |
Thoughts
I’ve watched this one a lot when I was a kid but not so much since then, and when it was recently released on Apple TV, I wanted to snap it up and watch it again. Convincing Mr C to get on board wasn’t easy but eventually I wore him down.
I couldn’t promise him that it was a good film, because in my memories it wasn’t the best, despite the fact that I loved it. But actually, on this latest watch, I was pleasantly surprised. It is a good film. It has some problems in the current climate, and the bit with the mime is always a bit I could do without, but otherwise it’s a fun story with mostly good songs and some cheeky adventures along the way.
We ripped a lot of holes in the plot as we went along, naturally, but that’s part of the fun, and all in all it was a far more enjoyable experience than I, or Mr C, had any right to expect.
Rating: 4 / 5