Review for Every Day's A Holiday

If you thought 'Grease' (or even 'High School Musical') was the first of a kind then think again. Both were merely versions of a genre that has been alive and kicking since teens were first 'invented' some-time during the early fifties.


At the time, the film was probably seen as a poor man's 'Summer Holiday' but it delivers plenty despite its limited budget and scope.


The film is also filled with genuine holiday makers of the time, going about their regimented regime of enjoyment and it's a real keyhole into that world, with plenty of holidaymakers perfectly happy passing their days in a dingy, smoke-filled bingo hall for example. Yeach!


Gerry (John Leyton) is a bartender who fantasizes about being a famous pop star. Christina (Grazina Frame) is an upper-class bird who sneaks off to be a waitress but her Aunt (Hazel Hughes),would rather she keep up her operatic lessons with the great Bastinado (Ron Moody). Susan and Jennifer (The Baker Twins) are boy-crazy twins who work in the nursery, and Timothy Gilpin (Mike Sarne) is the arrogant nightclub singer. They're ably abetted by a cheeky young Richard O'Sullivan, a decade before he turned up again in 'Man About the House', as well as Nicholas Parsons playing a BBC Producer / Director to full camp advantage.


The whole thing never takes itself very seriously (like 'A Hard Day's Night') and is clearly a dashed off piece cynically aimed at the youth of the day.


The cinematography isn't particularly notable (but perfectly adequate) though is of interest in that it represents some early work by Nicolas Roeg well in advance of him taking the Director's chair in 'Walkabout' or 'The Man Who Fell to Earth'.


The disc sent to me by Renown was a hand-written DVD-R and the quality of transfer and compression was truly awful though how representative this single layer disc version is of what you might get if you order for real is anyone's guess. (Curious as other discs provided by Renown have been very good ...like 'The Boys' for example).


Overall, despite a running time of barely an hour, and the shoddy transfer, this movie is great fun and will definitely go on my 'watch again' list.