Ep #83 - Bands Playing Themselves in the 60s
Head (1968)
When A Hard Days Night exploded onto the scene in 1964, its charm and success was simply ripe for some good ol’ fashioned bootlegging. What followed was half a decade of wannabe music movies – specifically, movies in which pop bands play themselves while still following a strictly scripted plot. Mainly these were vehicles for British boy bands, but eventually they started to extend over to the Americas – where they warped from wholesome to hippie.
In this season finale, Bart and Jenna tackle several of these band movies head on – and with Head on. It’s an episode full of high highs (marijuana and LSD) and low lows (Herman’s Hermits and Freddie and the Dreamers), but quite frankly they’re all a treat as its such a decade-specific genre. Get ready for a whole lot of restless youths, square plots, stoner humor, and screaming, adoring fans.
The following films are discussed:
• Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964)
Directed by Jeremy Summers
Starring Gerry & The Pacemakers, Mona Washbourne, Cilla Black
• Having a Wild Weekend (1965)
Catch Us If You Can
Directed by John Boorman
Starring The Dave Clark Five, Barbara Ferris, Yootha Joyce
• Help! (1965)
Directed by Richard Lester
Starring The Beatles, Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron
• Hold On! (1966)
Directed by Arthur Lubin
Starring Herman’s Hermits, Shelley Fabares, Sue Ane Langdon
• The Cuckoo Patrol (1967)
Directed by Duncan Wood
Starring Freddie & The Dreamers, Kenneth Connor, Victor Maddern
• Good Times (1967)
Directed by William Friedkin
Starring Sonny & Cher, George Sanders, Norman Alden
• Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968)
Directed by Saul Swimmer
Starring Herman’s Hermits, Sheila White, Sarah Caldwell
• Head (1968)
Directed by Bob Rafelson
Starring The Monkees, Victor Mature, Annette Funicello
Also mentioned:
• The Ghost Goes Gear (1966)
Directed by Hugh Gladwish
Starring The Spencer Davis Group, Nicholas Parsons, Sheila White
• Los chicos con las chicas (1967)
Directed by Javier Aguirre
Starring Los Bravos, Enriqueta Carballeira, Manolo Gómez Bur
• Dame un poco de amooor...! (1968)
Directed by José María Forqué
Starring Los Bravos, Rosenda Monteros, Luis Peña
