| What a Crazy World | |
|---|---|
 Soundtrack Album Cover | |
| Directed by | Michael Carreras |
| Written by | Alan Klein |
| Edited by | Max Benedict |
Production company | Capricorn [Michael Carreras Productions] |
| Distributed by | Warner-Pathé Distributors |
Release date | 1963 |
Running time | 88 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £9,000[1] or £121,191[2] |
What a Crazy World is a 1963 film directed by Michael Carreras and starring Joe Brown and Sausan Maughan.[3] The script is by Carreras and Alan Klein, from the latter's stage play.[4] It is a pop musical featuring a number of late 1950s and early 1960s musical performers, including an appearance by Freddie and the Dreamers.
Plot
Unemployed working class lad Alf Hitchens, has an on-off relationship with his girlfriend Marilyn, whilst trying to sell a song he has written. Michael Ripper appears in several cameo roles bemoaning the "bleeding kids" he encounters.
Cast
- Joe Brown – Alf Hitchens
- Susan Maughan – Marilyn
- Marty Wilde – Herbie Shadbolt
- Harry H. Corbett – Sam Hitchens
- Avis Bunnage – Mary Hitchens
- Michael Ripper – The Common Man
- Grazina Frame – Doris
- Monte Landis – Solly Gold
- Michael Goodman – Joey Hitchens
- Jessie Robins – Fat Woman
- Freddie and the Dreamers – Frantic Freddie and The Dreamers
Reception
Box Office
Kinematograph Weekly called the film a "money maker" at the British box office for 1964.[5]
Critical reception
Leslie Halliwell said: "Unsurprising star musical, quite lively of its kind."[6]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "With Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard making movies, it was only a matter of time before Joe Brown would have a go. The result is an amiable but outdated musical that is still worth catching to see Brown and the Bruvvers, Freddie and the Dreamers, Susan Maughan and Marty Wilde at the height of their powers. The longueurs between the musical numbers, which the more generous might call the plot, are distinctly dodgy."[7]
Releases
The film was released by Network Video July 2014 with the original theatrical trailer.
References
- ↑ Bruce G. Hallenbeck, British Cult Cinema: Hammer Fantasy and Sci-Fi, Hemlock Books 2011 p. 145
- ↑ Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 360
- ↑ "What a Crazy World". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ↑ John Walker (ed) Halliwell's Film and Video Guide 2000, London; Harper Collins, 1999, p. 900
- ↑ Altria, Bill (17 December 1964). "British Films Romp Home – Fill First Five Places". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 9.
- ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 1103. ISBN 0586088946.
- ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 1012. ISBN 9780992936440.
External links