''Jazz Boat'' is a 1960 British musical comedy film directed by

Ken Hughes Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

and starring

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leading ...

Anne Aubrey Anne Aubrey (born 1 January 1937) is a retired English film actress. She was mainly active in Warwick Films in the 1950s and 1960s. She worked with Anthony Newley in such films as '' Idol on Parade'', '' Killers of Kilimanjaro'', '' The Bandit ...

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...

and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

leader

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

and his orchestra. Many of the cast and the same director then made ''

In the Nick ''In the Nick'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Bernie Winters, James Booth and Harry Andrews. In the film, a gang of incompetent criminals are placed in a special type of new priso ...

'' (1960).

Plot

Electrician Bert Harris (Anthony Newley) boasts that he's a successful cat burglar, which leads to him getting mixed up with real thieves who need those special skills for a big jewellery heist. However, Bert was only giving them a "song and dance" about being a cat burglar, but now discovers it's too late to back out.

Cast

as Bert Harris *

as The Doll *

Bernie Winters Bernie Winters (born Bernie Weinstein; 6 September 1930 – 4 May 1991), was an English comedian, actor, musician & TV presenter, and the comic foil of the double act Mike and Bernie Winters with his older brother, Mike. Winters later perfor ...

as The Jinx *

James Booth James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. Though considered handsome enough to play leading roles, and versatile enough to play a wide variety ...

as Spider Kelly *

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Cla ...

as Inspector *

as Sergeant Thompson * David Lodge as Holy Mike *

Al Mulock Alfred Mulock Rogers (June 30, 1926 – May 1968), better known as Al Mulock or Al Mulloch, was a Canadian character actor. Early life Alfred Mulock Rogers was born on June 30, 1926 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the only child of Adèle ...

as The Dancer *

Joyce Blair Joyce Blair (born Joyce Ogus; 4 November 1932 – 19 August 2006) was an English actress and dancer. She was the younger sister of Lionel Blair, with whom she often performed. Early life and education Blair was born in London, as the daughter ...

as Rene *

Jean Philippe Jean Philippe Gargantiel (, 27 November 1930 – 7 January 2022) was a French singer who represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. He returned to the contest in 1962 representing Switzerland. He was the first artist to compete fo ...

as Jean *

Liam Gaffney Liam Gaffney (22 June 1911 – July 1994) was an Ireland, Irish stage, film actor, film and television actor. His stage work included appearances with Dublin's Abbey Theatre, and in London's West End (theatre), West End. Selected filmography * ' ...

as Spider's Father * Henry Webb as Barman *

as himself * Frank Williams as Man whose bowler hat is knocked off in the market

Production

It was based on a novel by Rex Rienits. Rienits later admitted he disliked writing novels but was in a career slump so decided to write a novel to sell to the movies. Filming started 15 June 1959. A scene involving more than 200 extras was shot at Chislehurst Caves, Kent; on that night the payroll was stolen meaning they could not be paid.

Critical reception

''Variety'' called it "an odd assoilment of romance, jazz, musical comedy and youthful crimeas What comes out is largely chaos although some of it is infectiously amusing. Mostly it s vague, disjointed and purposeless. Director Ken Hughes may have been making some sort of an attempt at parodv of American crime pix." The MFB called it "a lively, muddle headed British musical." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote, "While imitating American gangster films, this simple picture also provides a look at the British "

Teddy Boy The Teddy Boys or Teds were a mainly British youth subculture of the mid 1950s to mid 1960s who were interested in rock and roll and R&B music, wearing clothes partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, which Savil ...

" subcultureassome amusing situations, though none is particularly memorable"; while

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

called it an "Energetic caper." ''Filmink'' said it "starts out as a crime drama then weirdly turns into a musical (complete with dance numbers) then back into a crime drama again/"

References

External links

*
Jazz Boat
at Letterbox DVD * 1960 films British musical comedy films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Ken Hughes Films produced by Albert R. Broccoli Columbia Pictures films Films set in London 1960 musical comedy films Films shot at MGM-British Studios 1960s British films {{musical-comedy-film-stub