''Take Me High'' is a 1973 British

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, directed by

David Askey David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, written by

Christopher Penfold Christopher Penfold is an English scriptwriter and editor. Television shows on which he has worked include '' Pathfinders'', '' One by One'', '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' EastEnders'', ''Casualty'', '' The Brack Report'', the second s ...

and starring

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

in his final film role, with

Deborah Watling Deborah Patricia Watling (2 January 1948 – 21 July 2017) was an English actress who played the role of Victoria Waterfield, a companion of the Second Doctor in the BBC television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1967 to 1968. She began her career a ...

Hugh Griffith Hugh Emrys Griffith (30 May 1912 – 14 May 1980) was a Welsh film, stage, and television actor. He is best remembered for his role in the film '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), which earned him critical acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Acto ...

, George Cole and Anthony Andrews. Set and filmed mainly in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, it features many landmarks from the city, including

Gas Street Basin Gas Street Basin () is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, England, where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line. It is located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindleyplace canal-side d ...

Alpha Tower Alpha Tower is a Grade II listed office skyscraper in Birmingham, England. It was designed by the Birmingham-born architect George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners as the headquarters of the commercial television company ATV (Associated T ...

, the

Council House A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...

(as a hotel),

Spaghetti Junction Spaghetti junction is a nickname sometimes given to a complex or massively intertwined road traffic interchange that is said to resemble a plate of spaghetti. Such interchanges may incorporate a variety of interchange design elements in ord ...

, New Street, Corporation Street, Central Library and the

Hall of Memory Hall of Memory is a name used for some memorials, including: * The Hall of Memory, Birmingham, a war memorial in Birmingham, United Kingdom, honoring residents killed in World War I. * The octagonal chapel at the heart of the Australian War Memori ...

. It was released on

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

in 1988 as a VHS tape. It was not given a retail release on DVD until March 2019, although a free DVD of the film was issued with the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' on 25 September 2010.

Cast

as Tim Matthews *

(credited as Debbie Watling) as Sarah *

as Sir Harry Cunningham * George Cole as Bert Jackson * Anthony Andrews as Hugo Flaxman *

Richard Wattis Richard Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, the ...

as Sir Charles Furness *

Madeline Smith Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949) is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s. She is perhaps ...

as Vicki *

Moyra Fraser Moyra Fraser (3 December 1923 – 13 December 2009) was an Australian-born English actress and ballet dancer, who is best known for playing Penny in the long-running sitcom '' As Time Goes By''. Her sister was the actress Shelagh Fraser. She ma ...

as Molly *

Ronald Hines Ronald Charles Andrew Hines (20 June 1929 – 28 March 2017) was a British television actor. He had a lengthy career, but possibly his most prominent roles were as Henry Corner in three of the four series of ''Not in Front of the Children'', ...

as Sam * Jimmy Gardner as Hulbert *

Noel Trevarthen Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places *Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid * Mount Noel, Britis ...

as Paul *

Graham Armitage Graham Armitage (24 April 1936 – 6 March 1999) was an English stage, film and television actor. Armitage was born in Blackpool in Lancashire, the son of Albert Edward Armitage (1908–1959) and Isabel W. ''née'' Bailes (1909–). In 1947 Harv ...

as Boardman *

John Franklyn-Robbins John Franklyn-Robbins (14 December 1924 – 21 March 2009) was an English character and voice actor. A prolific Shakespearean actor, he trained at RADA and proceeded to work at the Manchester Library Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic early i ...

as Alderman *

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...

as Grandson * Elizabeth Scott as Waitress * Polly Williams as Receptionist

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album was released in December 1973 (which has been released on CD). The title track was a UK top 30 single (No. 27), while the album peaked at No. 41.Steve Turner -Cliff Richard: The Biography 0745952798-2008 Page 265 The songs, written by Australian Tony Cole, were vacuous and instantly forgettable.

Track listing

Side One #"It's Only Money" (

Tony Cole Anthony Stuart Cole (born 17 March 1947) is a retired senior Australian public servant. He served the Commonwealth in various capacities for over 25 years. Early life Cole was born in Macksville, New South Wales, on 17 March 1947. He attended ...

) #"Midnight Blue" (Tony Cole) #"Hover” (Instrumental, The David Mackay Orchestra) (Tony Cole) #"Why?" (with Anthony Andrews) (Tony Cole) #"Life" (Tony Cole) #"Driving" (Tony Cole) #"The Game" (Tony Cole) #"Brumburger Duet" (with Debbie Watling) (Tony Cole) Side Two #"

Take Me High ''Take Me High'' is a 1973 British feature film, directed by David Askey, written by Christopher Penfold and starring Cliff Richard in his final film role, with Deborah Watling, Hugh Griffith, George Cole and Anthony Andrews. Set and filmed ...

" (Tony Cole) #"The Anti-Brotherhood of Man" (Tony Cole) #"Winning" (Tony Cole) #"Driving" (Instrumental, The David Mackay Orchestra) (Tony Cole) #"Join the Band" (Tony Cole) #"The Word is Love" (Tony Cole) #"Brumburger (Finale)" (Tony Cole)

References

External links

* * {{Amg movie, 112589, Take Me High 1973 films British musical films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios History of Birmingham, West Midlands Films set in Birmingham, West Midlands 1970s English-language films 1970s British films