- Don't Let It Get You
-
Don't Let It Get You Directed by John O'Shea Produced by John O'Shea Music by Patrick Flynn Cinematography Tony Williams Editing by John O'Shea Release date(s) 1966 Running time 80 minutes Language English Don't Let It Get You is a film made in New Zealand and Sydney Australia in 1966. It is notable for the period it was made in as well as the popular musical acts that featured in it.
Sir Howard Morrison, Eddie Low, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Herma and Eliza Keil of the Keil Isles featured in the film. It also had an appearance by Australian hit maker Normie Rowe.[1]
Directed by John O'Shea and written by Joe Musaphia, the film captures the exuberance and energy of of one of New Zealand's finest hours in pop/rock musical history. Fashioned in the style of Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), it is a showcase for the talents of the period, including Kiri te Kanawa ("Sing for us now, Kiri"). The songs are mostly written by Patrick Flynn in collaboration with either O'Shea or Musaphia. However, the film is also a knockabout romantic comedy: the dialogue non-sequiturs, pratfall gags and bizarre juxtapositions display an offbeat sense of irony and blase manner not unlike that of television in the late Eighties (Terry and the Gunrunners and The Billy T. James Show, for example). As a nostalgia piece, the film comes as close to capturing the hopes and aspirations of the period as the Weekly Reviews do for the Forties and the Tangata Whenua series does for the Seventies.
Contents
Synopsis
Although most of the film is set in Rotorua, it actually starts out in Sydney. Furthermore, the hero and heroine, Gary Wallace and Judy Beech, are both Australian. Gary wants desperately to play in Howard Morrison's band at a big concert in Rotorua, so he sells his drums to pay for the plane ticket to New Zealand, and Morrison turns out to be on the same flight. Judy, a Marilyn Monroe blonde, is also on that flight, en route to Rotorua with her mother for a holiday. Aside from Gary and Judy and Howard Morrison himself, the fourth major role is filled out by the obligatory villain, William, a rival drummer who has the job Gary seeks, and who also sets off in hot pursuit of Judy. At the end of the film, while Gary wins Judy and plays in the concert, William is, quite literally, marooned in the middle of Lake Rotorua.
Cast
- In order of credits
Actor Played as Howard Morrison Himself Gary Wallace Himself Carmen Duncan Judith Beech Normie Rowe Himself Kiri Te Kanawa Herself Harry Lavington William Broadhead Alma Woods Mrs Beech Tanya Binning Queen of the Surf Ernie Leonard Himself Eric Wood Service Station Attendant Anne Sharland Herself Rim D. Paul Himself Gerry Merito Himself Herma Keil Himself Eliza Keil Herself Lew Pryme Himself Eddie Low Himself Gwynn Owen Herself Keri Summers Herself Paul Walden Himself - Source: Internet Movie Database[2]
References
- ^ "Don't Let It Get You". The Film Archive. http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/feature-project/pages/DLIGU.php. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ Cast and crew of Don't Let It Get You at the Internet Movie Database
External links
Categories:- Musical film stubs
- 1960s comedy film stubs
- Australian film stubs
- Australian musical films
- New Zealand films
- Australian comedy films
- Films shot in Sydney
- 1960s musical films
- 1960s comedy films
- 1966 films
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
