It's Trad, Dad!

It's Trad, Dad!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Lester
Produced by Max Rosenberg
Milton Subotsky
Written by Milton Subotsky
Starring Helen Shapiro
Craig Douglas
Felix Felton
Deryck Guyler
Music by Ken Thorne (incidental music)
Cinematography Gilbert Taylor
Edited by Bill Lenny
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
30 March 1962
Running time
78 min.
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget £50,000[2]
Box office £300,000 (UK)[2]

It's Trad, Dad! (1962), known in the U.S. as Ring-A-Ding Rhythm, is a musical comedy featuring performances by a variety of jazz bands and rock-and-roll singers. The film was one of the first put out by Amicus Productions, a company known predominantly for horror films. It was director Richard Lester's first feature film.[3]

Plot

Craig (Craig Douglas) and Helen (Helen Shapiro, then 15-years-old) are teenagers who enjoy the latest trend of traditional jazz along with their friends. The local mayor and a group of adults dislike the trend, and move to have the jukebox in the coffee shop silenced.

With the help of a character who also functions as an omniscient narrator, Craig and Helen journey to a TV studio to find a disc jockey and organize a show to gain popularity for the music. They eventually get to see Pete Murray and persuade him to attend and arrange for several jazz bands to perform. Upon hearing the news of the upcoming performance, the mayor decides to stop the performers' bus by any means necessary.

When the show is scheduled to start, Craig and Helen find that their disc-jockey and musicians have not yet arrived, so they perform themselves and are well-received by the crowd. The bands' bus manages to evade a series of obstacles set up by the local police, and they arrive and put on the show for the BBC television cameras. The film ends with everyone enjoying the music, including the mayor who has been easily persuaded to take the credit for having arranged a successful show.

Cast

Soundtrack

The film predominantly comprises musical numbers, including performances by the principal actors Helen Shapiro and Craig Douglas themselves. However, unlike traditional "musicals" the songs have little to do with the movie plot. The other performers shown in the Cast list were popular acts from both the U.K. and U.S.

References

  1. Ed. Allan Bryce, Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood, Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 15
  2. 1 2 Alexander Walker, Hollywood, England, Stein and Day, 1974 p227
  3. Gelly, Dave (2014). An Unholy Row. Equinox. p. 135.
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