Director's Comments
When my new agent, Leslie Grade, saw my short film 'Six-Sided Triangle' he thought I should do 'something less intellectual' and suggested I directed another short with the 'Shadows'. They were also members of the Grade Organisation's stable, as was his son Michael, who helped me briefly on the film’s budget.
I was 24 years old and longing to do a feature of Nigel Dennis' 'Cards of Identity', but I still owed money on my last short film, and the bank manager was pressing. I met Peter Gormley, the manager of the Shadows, and we got on well. What they really wanted to do was a sort of 'Running-jumping-standing-still' sort of short film, but I pointed out they were not Peter Sellers nor Spike Milligan…. but I'd try and think of something. It had to be quick, as they were going for a gig in Yarmouth for a month in the summer, and so free to film there during the day.
Thinking of Yarmouth and the sea, and that the beaches of England, as Churchill pointed out, were the key to Britain's island history, I had an idea to trace the historical events on England's beaches and dove-tail it with the Shadow's music. Five years earlier I had worked not only on the Begmilian Show, but also on some cabaret sketches with an old school friend, Peter Lipscomb. Both he, and Ian Lang, had helped me with a couple of ideas for 'Six-Sided Triangle' so I contacted them again. We had two weeks to go, and a budget of £10,000, but I was lucky to get the same camera crew and art director as 'Six-Sided Triangle'.
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Christopher Miles and Peter Lipscomb - early Cabaret efforts - Nic Ullett and Ian Lang |
I'll never forget first day of shooting. We were a small unit, but only I knew where the rather secret private beach was situated, so in my old mini I had to lead the Shadows in their 4 Rolls Royces followed by Cliff Richard in his Cadillac - and I lost the way. The second day the camera broke down and a new one had to be sent from London, and the fourth day the stills man broke his tendon and had to go to hospital - but we finished in the 10 day schedule allowed.
The Shadows provided some very entertaining musical parodies, and added their own witty touches, as did Bernard Sarron with his costumes and props. However Cliff gallantly braved near disaster playing King Canute when his throne capsized in the sea.
The film was to have been titled 'A Look at Rubbish' as in the sixties the cinema going public had to sit through dreadfully banal supporting short films called 'A Look at Life' and the not so bad 'Pathé Pictorial'. However they wanted the title changed, so Hank suggested "Rhythm 'n' Greens" but they did allow me to shoot the china Pathé cock off its perch at the start ...
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Cliff Richard tests the temperature before doing a King Canute under the sea |
