''Tommy the Toreador'' is a 1959 British

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

John Paddy Carstairs John Paddy Carstairs (born John Keys; 11 May 1910, in London – 12 December 1970, in London) was a British film director (1933–62) and television director (1962–64), usually of light-hearted subject matter. He was also a comic novelist and ...

and starring

Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele reco ...

Janet Munro Janet Munro (born Janet Neilson Horsburgh; 28 September 1934 – 6 December 1972) was a British actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' (1959) and received a BAFTA Film Awar ...

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mid ...

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

, Noel Purcell and

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Car ...

Premise

A British ship docks in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and Tommy, a sailor from London, gets stranded after he saves the life of a bullfighter.

Cast

as Tommy *

as Amanda *

as Cadena *

as Paco * Noel Purcell as Captain * Virgilio Teixeira as Parilla, the Bullfighter * José Nieto as Inspector Quintero *

Ferdy Mayne Ferdy Mayne (or Ferdie Mayne) (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was a German-British stage and screen actor. Born in Mainz, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1930s to escape the Nazi regi ...

as Lopez *

Harold Kasket Harold Kasket (26 July 1926 – 20 January 2002) was an English actor in theatre, films and later television from the 1940s. Kasket usually played Arabs or mainland European types in many films and TV programmes such as ''Maigret'', ''The Saint ...

as Jose *

as Vice-Consul *

Eric Sykes Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading com ...

as Martin

Production

Janet Munro was borrowed from

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, who had her under contract. The film was shot at the Associated British studios in

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

. There was location filming in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

in May 1959. Steele says filming took 12 weeks and that Carstairs was a "chubby, jovial ball of energy... his direction was always precise and without fuss."

Songs

The songs were written by Lionel Bart, Mike Pratt and Steele who had collaborated on ''

The Duke Wore Jeans ''The Duke Wore Jeans'' is a 1958 British comedy musical film by producer Nat Cohen starring Tommy Steele and June Laverick. The songs for the film were released in 1958 by Decca on a 10" LP, a 7" EP and two 7" singles and, in more recent times, ...

''. Steele said their aim on the film were to present "a score of tunes and lyrics that joined the plot without ever stopping it in its tracks." The songs included: *"Tommy the Toreador" *"Take a Ride" *"

Little White Bull "Little White Bull" is a song by English rock and roll singer Tommy Steele, released as a single in November 1959. It was included on the EP ''Tommy the Toreador'' from the film of the same name in which Steele also starred. Steele's royalties f ...

" *"Singing Time" *"Where's the Birdie?" - sung with James and Cribbins *"Amanda"

Critical reception

The Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

, Tom Vallance gave the film three out of five stars, and wrote, "perky pop star Tommy Steele, a former seaman himself, plays the part of a sailor in this lively and likeable musical comedy"; while

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

called the film "a brisk, disarming little comedy."

Legacy

Steele says the song "Little White Bull" helped him form a new career because children loved the song and parents would bring them to his rock concerts to hear it.Steele p 299

References

Notes

External links

Tommy the Toreador
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Tommy the Toreador
at Letterbox DVD
Tommy the Toreador
at BFI 1959 films 1959 musical comedy films British musical comedy films Bullfighting films Films directed by John Paddy Carstairs Films shot at Associated British Studios Films shot in the province of Seville Films set in Spain Films with screenplays by Patrick Kirwan Films with screenplays by Sid Colin 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{musical-comedy-film-stub