The British comedy musical 'Finders Keepers' ( 1966 ) saw Cliff Richard & The Shadows back on the big screen after a two-year break ( their last picture being 1964's 'Wonderful Life' ). The plot seems to have been inspired by the then-most recent James Bond picture 'Thunderball'. A British plane on a training mission accidentally drops an atomic bomb - codenamed the 'Mini B Mark 2' - somewhere over the Mediterranean. Agents of competing world powers converge on sunny Spain to find it and thus hold the balance of power. Cliff and the gang arrive by train to do a concert. They find the place strangely deserted. One of the few not to heed the evacuation warnings is the beautiful 'Emilia' ( Viviane Ventura ).
Their hotel is run by cantankerous Colonel Roberts ( Robert Morley ), and staffed by shouty cook 'Mrs.Bragg' ( Peggy Mount ) and incompetent 'Burke' ( Graham Stark ). Roberts shows his guests hospitality because he thinks Hank Marvin is really a fellow spy. Well, this is a comedy after all!
Much singing ( including a song about paella! ) and running about ensues, some comic American soldiers show up ( led by Robert Hutton ), and the film climaxes in jolly fashion at a carnival as our heroes try to stop Roberts from absconding with the bomb. Nice Spanish scenery, gorgeous girls, forgettable songs, a few genuine laughs, and Cliff and his chums having a good time in Technicolour. Amiable '60's fluff. With Melvin Hayes, Una Stubbs and Richard O'Sullivan absent, the Shadows get to shine a bit more though they have to compete with the likes of Morley, Stark and Mount. Its a bit hard though to take the very English Morley as working for the Russians. John Le Mesurier also pops up as a mysterious spy who identifies himself only as 'X'.
The producer, George H.Brown, was responsible for M.G.M.'s delightful 'Miss Marple' series starring Margaret Rutherford. Writer Michael Pertwee had also penned another Mount/Morley picture - 1960's 'Ladies Who Do'.
Things To Listen Out For - Roberts turning on the radio, and tuning into 'The Avengers'. Sidney Hayers, the director, also worked on that show!
With 'A Hard Days Night', one might reasonably have expected Cliff to do something in similar vein, but he did not. 'Finders Keepers' manages to be more endurable than the Fab Four's 'Help!' ( 1965 ), however. Cliff ditched the Shadows - and his goody-goody image - for his next picture - the Billy Graham movie 'Two a Penny' ( 1968 ).
Their hotel is run by cantankerous Colonel Roberts ( Robert Morley ), and staffed by shouty cook 'Mrs.Bragg' ( Peggy Mount ) and incompetent 'Burke' ( Graham Stark ). Roberts shows his guests hospitality because he thinks Hank Marvin is really a fellow spy. Well, this is a comedy after all!
Much singing ( including a song about paella! ) and running about ensues, some comic American soldiers show up ( led by Robert Hutton ), and the film climaxes in jolly fashion at a carnival as our heroes try to stop Roberts from absconding with the bomb. Nice Spanish scenery, gorgeous girls, forgettable songs, a few genuine laughs, and Cliff and his chums having a good time in Technicolour. Amiable '60's fluff. With Melvin Hayes, Una Stubbs and Richard O'Sullivan absent, the Shadows get to shine a bit more though they have to compete with the likes of Morley, Stark and Mount. Its a bit hard though to take the very English Morley as working for the Russians. John Le Mesurier also pops up as a mysterious spy who identifies himself only as 'X'.
The producer, George H.Brown, was responsible for M.G.M.'s delightful 'Miss Marple' series starring Margaret Rutherford. Writer Michael Pertwee had also penned another Mount/Morley picture - 1960's 'Ladies Who Do'.
Things To Listen Out For - Roberts turning on the radio, and tuning into 'The Avengers'. Sidney Hayers, the director, also worked on that show!
With 'A Hard Days Night', one might reasonably have expected Cliff to do something in similar vein, but he did not. 'Finders Keepers' manages to be more endurable than the Fab Four's 'Help!' ( 1965 ), however. Cliff ditched the Shadows - and his goody-goody image - for his next picture - the Billy Graham movie 'Two a Penny' ( 1968 ).