That'll Be the Day (film)
| That'll Be the Day | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover by Arnaldo Putzu |
|
| Directed by | Claude Whatham |
| Produced by | Sanford Lieberson David Puttnam |
| Written by | Ray Connolly |
| Starring | David Essex Ringo Starr Keith Moon Billy Fury Deborah Watling |
| Distributed by | Anglo-EMI Film Distribution |
| Release date(s) | 12 April 1973 (UK) 29 October 1973 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £288,000[1] |
That'll Be the Day is a 1973 British film starring David Essex and Ringo Starr, written by Ray Connolly and directed by Claude Whatham. It is set in the late '50s/early '60s and was partially filmed on the Isle of Wight.
Contents |
Plot summary [edit]
The mother of Jim MacLaine (David Essex) was abandoned by his father when he was young. Later, as a suburban school dropout, Jim leaves home and drifts through a succession of dead-end jobs until he finds an outlet for his frustration in rock 'n' roll. Tossing away the chance of a university education much to the consternation of his mother, alienated MacLaine becomes a lowly deckchair attendant before streetwise friend Mike (Ringo Starr) gets him a job firstly as a barman and then with the fun fair. The initially shy MacLaine quickly becomes a heartless fairground Romeo leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Eventually MacLaine returns home to run the family store and marry his girlfriend, but despite the birth of a son, restless Jim feels the lure of rock’n’roll again.
Characters [edit]
The Liverpool days of The Quarrymen/The Beatles and Rory Storm & The Hurricanes were said to be the inspiration for the fictional group called "Stray Cats" in the film.
Many of the characters were played by musicians who had lived through the era portrayed in the film including Ringo Starr of The Hurricanes and The Beatles, Billy Fury of The Hurricanes, Keith Moon of The Who, and John Hawken of The Nashville Teens.
The film was produced by David Puttnam and is loosely based on the Harry Nilsson song "1941".
Cast [edit]
- David Essex . . . Jim Maclaine
- Rosemary Leach . . . Mary Maclaine
- James Booth . . . Mr. Maclaine
- Ringo Starr . . . Mike
- Robert Lindsay . . . Terry Sutcliffe
- Rosalind Ayres . . . Jeanette Sutcliffe
- Billy Fury . . . Stormy Tempest (character based in Rory Storm)
- Tony Rayment . . . Jive Dancer
- Keith Moon . . . J.D. Clover
- Deborah Watling . . . Sandra
- Karl Howman . . . Johnny Swinburne
- Beth Morris . . . Jean
- Sacha Puttnam . . . young Jim Maclaine
Reception and reputation [edit]
The film was a hit at the box office (by 1985 it had earned an estimated profit of £406,000),[1] leading to a sequel, Stardust, (1974).
Critic Anne Billson has called it a "hugely overrated dip into the rock'n'roll nostalgia bucket, ... " also commenting "Youth culture my eye: they're all at least a decade too old. But good tunes, and worth catching for Billy Fury's gold lamé act."[2]
Soundtrack [edit]
- Buddy Holly - "That'll Be The Day"
- Billy Fury - "A Thousand Stars"
- Billy Fury - "Long Live Rock"
- Billy Fury - "Get Yourself Together"
- Billy Fury - "That's Alright Mama"
- Billy Fury - "What Did I Say"
- Wishful Thinking - "It'll Be Me"
- Dion and the Belmonts - "Runaround Sue"
- The Everly Brothers - "Bye Bye Love"
- The Everly Brothers - "Devoted To You"
- The Everly Brothers - "Till I Kissed You"
- The Everly Brothers - "Wake Up Little Suzy"
- The Platters - "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"
- Big Bopper - "Chantilly Lace"
- Jerry Lee Lewis - "Great Balls of Fire"
- Little Richard - "Tutti Frutti"
- Danny And The Juniors - "At The Hop"
- Frankie Lymon - "Why Do Fools Fall In Love"
- Johnny Tillotson -"Poetry In Motion"
- Jimmie Rodgers - "Honeycomb"
- Larry Williams - "Bony Moronie"
- Del Shannon - "Runaway"
- Richie Valens - "Donna"
- Eugene Wallace - "Slow Down"
- Jerry Lee Lewis - "Great Balls of Fire"
- Brian Hyland - "Sealed With a Kiss"
- Bobby Vee - "Take Good Care Of My Baby"
- Del Shannon - "Hats Off To Larry"
- Bobby Darin - "Dream Lover"
- The Paris Sisters - "I love How You Love Me"
- The Poni-Tails - "Born Too Late"
- Johnny and the Hurricanes - "Red River Rock"
- The Monotones - "The Book of Love"
- Bill Justis - "Raunchy"
- Johnny Preston - "Running Bear"
- The Diamonds - "Little Darlin' "
- Ray Sharp - "Linda Lou"
- Lloyd Price - "(You've Got) Personality"
- Buddy Holly and the Crickets - "Well All Right"
- Dante And The Evergreen - "Ally Oop"
- Viv Stanshall - "Real Leather Jacket"
- Stormy Tempest ( Viv Stanshall ) - "What in the World"
Chart positions [edit]
| Chart | Year | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[3] | 1973 | 1 |
| Preceded by Pure Gold by Various artists |
UK Albums Chart number-one album 30 June 1973 - 18 August 1973 |
Succeeded by We Can Make It by Peters and Lee |
Award Nominations [edit]
BAFTA Best Supporting Actress: Rosemary Leach.
BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles: David Essex.
Spin-off [edit]
An independent Radio Drama recording project was completed in 2008 entitled 'That'll be the Stardust!' which continues the story of Jimmy Maclaine jr. (son of Jim Maclaine). The website featuring the complete drama is now online (see external link below).
References [edit]
- ^ a b Alexander Walker, National Heroes: British Cinema in the Seventies and Eighties, Harrap, 1985 p 79
- ^ The TimeOut Film Guide, 3rd edition, 1993, p. 706
- ^ "Number 1 Albums – 1970s". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
