What can be said about Tommy Steele that hasn't been said already? He's a consummate entertainer who tries(at least) to give the audience value for money in whatever he does.
Did anyone see his stage production of 'Singin' In The Rain' a few years back? Sheer brilliance from start to finish. And now he's appearing over the Christmas(2005) period(in the London Palladium, his former SITR home) in a stage adaptation of 'Scrooge'(the Albert Finney film musical that rose--and sank--in the(early) 70s(incidentally Michael Medwin, one of Tommy's co-stars in this film, takes a small role in the Finney musical as Fred, Scrooge's nephew).
But I'm here to discuss 'It's All Happening'(US title, 'Dream Maker').
As Tommy is a great singer it's only natural that the background for the movie should be a record company. Tommy plays a sort of gofer(one who runs around fetching and carrying for bosses too lazy to do things for themselves) to one of the higher-ups in said record company.
Tommy plays an orphan whose former home is in financial straits and, since he knows so many recording artists, he persuades some of them to appear in a concert in order to raise the necessary cash(I'm wondering if John Landis caught sight of this film as his plot for 'The Blues Brothers' has a similar device).
Some of the guest stars who appear all have a background of 70s British popular culture. Marion Ryan, Geoff Love, The George Mitchell Singers(without black face a la their roles in BBC TVs 'Black and White Minstrel Show') all put in an appearance along with a gentleman known as Shane Fenton in this film but who would later come to be known as Alvin Stardust(I always thought he looked a bit like the actor who played Lovejoy in that series). There's also a grinning Russ Conway(the pianist, not the American actor) playing a Spanish-type melody.
Of course there are trials and tribulations before we get to the happy ending. One plot involves the father of Tommy's girlfriend. The man is wealthy and wants to know if Tommy is a fortune-hunter. He hires a private detective played by Carry On star Bernard Bresslaw. That pairing alone makes the movie worthwhile for me.
Another problem is that Tommy gets fired--although he can still go ahead with his concert--because of a setup with the bosses' secretary. But that ultimately leads to the happy ending. Then, on top of all that, he goes and loses the letters inviting his stars to the concert! But all ends well. The orphanage get their money, Tommy gets his girl--and a recording contract to boot! And the film ends with a reprise(by the whole cast) of the song, 'Dream Maker'.
There was only one error in the movie, as far as I could see. That comes when the curtain pulls back so Tommy can go into his song and dance number. It is different from the curtain that can be seen on the stage of the theatre. Obviously the theatre was a real one but Tommy's routine was done on a sound stage at Pinewood(or maybe Elstree) and so the production team hung similar-looking curtains but they didn't get the hang quite right.
That aside, this is a lovely film and it literally cries out for a widescreen DVD release. I don't know how many of the pop stars who appeared in it are still alive(Russ Conway isn't, I do know that) or how long they'll stay alive. Since this film is virtually a time capsule it would be as well to place it on a disc so that those who saw it originally can be captivated by its magic once more. I have no idea who owns the rights to the film but I would hope that whoever does should do the decent thing and place it on one of those shiny silver discs for people like myself to enjoy!
Did anyone see his stage production of 'Singin' In The Rain' a few years back? Sheer brilliance from start to finish. And now he's appearing over the Christmas(2005) period(in the London Palladium, his former SITR home) in a stage adaptation of 'Scrooge'(the Albert Finney film musical that rose--and sank--in the(early) 70s(incidentally Michael Medwin, one of Tommy's co-stars in this film, takes a small role in the Finney musical as Fred, Scrooge's nephew).
But I'm here to discuss 'It's All Happening'(US title, 'Dream Maker').
As Tommy is a great singer it's only natural that the background for the movie should be a record company. Tommy plays a sort of gofer(one who runs around fetching and carrying for bosses too lazy to do things for themselves) to one of the higher-ups in said record company.
Tommy plays an orphan whose former home is in financial straits and, since he knows so many recording artists, he persuades some of them to appear in a concert in order to raise the necessary cash(I'm wondering if John Landis caught sight of this film as his plot for 'The Blues Brothers' has a similar device).
Some of the guest stars who appear all have a background of 70s British popular culture. Marion Ryan, Geoff Love, The George Mitchell Singers(without black face a la their roles in BBC TVs 'Black and White Minstrel Show') all put in an appearance along with a gentleman known as Shane Fenton in this film but who would later come to be known as Alvin Stardust(I always thought he looked a bit like the actor who played Lovejoy in that series). There's also a grinning Russ Conway(the pianist, not the American actor) playing a Spanish-type melody.
Of course there are trials and tribulations before we get to the happy ending. One plot involves the father of Tommy's girlfriend. The man is wealthy and wants to know if Tommy is a fortune-hunter. He hires a private detective played by Carry On star Bernard Bresslaw. That pairing alone makes the movie worthwhile for me.
Another problem is that Tommy gets fired--although he can still go ahead with his concert--because of a setup with the bosses' secretary. But that ultimately leads to the happy ending. Then, on top of all that, he goes and loses the letters inviting his stars to the concert! But all ends well. The orphanage get their money, Tommy gets his girl--and a recording contract to boot! And the film ends with a reprise(by the whole cast) of the song, 'Dream Maker'.
There was only one error in the movie, as far as I could see. That comes when the curtain pulls back so Tommy can go into his song and dance number. It is different from the curtain that can be seen on the stage of the theatre. Obviously the theatre was a real one but Tommy's routine was done on a sound stage at Pinewood(or maybe Elstree) and so the production team hung similar-looking curtains but they didn't get the hang quite right.
That aside, this is a lovely film and it literally cries out for a widescreen DVD release. I don't know how many of the pop stars who appeared in it are still alive(Russ Conway isn't, I do know that) or how long they'll stay alive. Since this film is virtually a time capsule it would be as well to place it on a disc so that those who saw it originally can be captivated by its magic once more. I have no idea who owns the rights to the film but I would hope that whoever does should do the decent thing and place it on one of those shiny silver discs for people like myself to enjoy!