''It's Great to Be Young'' is a 1956 British

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Cyril Frankel Cyril Solomon Israel Frankel (28 December 19217 June 2017) was a British film and television director. His career in television began in 1953 and he directed for over 30 TV programmes until 1990. He directed many episodes of popular British TV s ...

and starring

Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe; 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between 1 ...

and

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

. It was written by

Ted Willis Edward Henry Willis, Baron Willis (13 January 1914 – 22 December 1992) was an English playwright, novelist and screenwriter who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. He created several television serie ...

. The story concerns an inspirational school music teacher. Although the movie was very successful it has been described as "almost forgotten" today.

Plot

Mr Dingle seeks to interest his pupils in music in order to enjoy life, while the new strict headmaster, Mr Frome, believes Dingle is ruining the children's traditional education. Mr Dingle's pupils come up with a way to raise money by playing to crowds in the street and persuade him to help them. When this fails they decide to jazz it up and bring in some younger kids to help. This initiative is a success and, with the help of one of the pupil's parents, they are able to buy new musical instruments. The total cost, £200, is to be paid in instalments of £2.10s. per week which Dingle personally signs for. However, when Mr Dingle ends up on the front page of the local newspaper, the headmaster locks the instruments up. The pupils manage to get them out of the locked cupboards, rehearse and put them back without anyone noticing. Mr Dingle takes a second job playing the piano in his local pub for £4 a week plus free beer. However, he is spotted by one of the teachers who reports him to Mr Frome, who sacks him for it. The children protest about Dingle's dismissal by organising a strike and a sit-in. Children from other schools also stand outside in protest. Eventually, order is restored as Mr Frome relents and allows Mr Dingle to return. The children carry both out triumphantly to the tune of ''Top of the Form''.

Cast

as Mr. Dingle *

as Frome *

John Salew John Rylett Salew (28 February 1902 (some sources state 1 January 1897)14 September 1961) was an English stage film and TV actor. Salew made the transition from stage to films in 1939, and according to Allmovie, "the manpower shortage during W ...

as Routledge * Elizabeth Kentish as Mrs. Castle *

Mona Washbourne Mona Lee Washbourne (27 November 1903 – 15 November 1988) was an English people, English actress of stage, film, and television. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the film ''Stevie (1978 film), Stevie'' (1978), late in her career, for ...

as Miss Morrow *

Mary Merrall Mary Merrall (5 January 1890 – 31 August 1973), born Elsie Lloyd, was an English actress whose career of over 60 years encompassed stage, film and television work. Stage career Merrall's stage career started in her teens, making her first stag ...

as Miss Wyvern *

Derek Blomfield Derek Blomfield (31 August 1920 – 23 July 1964) was a British actor who appeared in a number of stage, film and television productions between 1935 and his death in 1964. Career He trained at LAMDA and made his first stage appearance a ...

as Paterson *

Jeremy Spenser Jeremy Spenser (born Jeremy John Dornhurst de Saram; 16 July 1937) is a British actor who is widely known for his work in film and television from the late 1940s to the mid 1960s. He made his screen debut aged 11 in ''Anna Karenina'' (1948). ...

as Nicky * Dorothy Bromiley as Paulette * Brian Smith as Ginger * Wilfred Downing as Browning * Robert Dickens as Morris * Dawson France as Crowther *

Carole Shelley Carole Augusta Shelley (16 August 1939 – 31 August 2018)Bartlett, Rhett"Carole Shelley, One of the Pigeon Sisters From 'The Odd Couple,' Dies at 79"''The Hollywood Reporter'', 1 September 2018

as Peggy * Richard O'Sullivan as Lawson * Norman Pierce as publican * Eleanor Summerfield as barmaid *

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes Order of the British Empire, CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2 ...

as Mr. Parkes, organ salesman *

Marjorie Rhodes Marjorie Rhodes (9 April 1897 – 4 July 1979) was a British actress. She was born Millicent Wise in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. Career One of her better-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother in Bill Naughton's pl ...

as landlady * Eddie Byrne as Morris *

Russell Waters Russell Waters (10 June 1908 – 19 August 1982) was a British film actor. Waters was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow. He began acting with the Old English Comedy and Shakespeare Company then app ...

as Mr. Scott, School Inspector

Soundtrack

The song "You are My First Love" is sung over the opening scenes of the film by Ruby Murray. Released on record, it reached number 16 in the UK charts.

Reception

Box office

The film was one of the ten most popular films at the British box office in 1956. Ted Willis says that despite the film being a "smash hit" he never saw a percentage of the producers profits, which he was entitled to.

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' said "A simple, boisterous schoolboy romp which echoes ''

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947 Year 947 (Roman numerals, CMXLVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – A Principality of Hungary, Hungarian army led by Grand Prince Taksony of Hungary, Taksony campaign ...

and the early Garland-Rooney musicals without achieving the gaiety of the former or the slickness of the latter. A fairly conventional script is enlivened by John Mills' enjoyable performance and a few amusing moments. The dubbing of the musical numbers by professional groups is quite efficient, though the sugary, American-style songs strike an alien note in such emphatically British surroundings." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' said "Lively story, clever conbution by John Mills, talented juveniles, catchy theme song, rollicking highlights, picturesque backgrounds, star values, Technicolor and 'U' certificate."

BFI Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and tele ...

writes, "''It's Great To Be Young!'' has a fair claim to be not only one of Britain's first teenage musicals but also one of the most commercially successful of any musical made in Britain during the 1950s – it proved so popular that it allegedly caused riots in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Its virtues are those of many ABPC productions of its era, from the vibrant

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was o ...

cinematography to the immaculately-selected cast and even if some of the sixth-formers are aged in their twenties, they do sound convincing as teenagers." ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' 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 September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "This light-hearted comedy has a remarkable level of energy and a superb sense of pace. John Mills stars as trumpet-playing, jazz loving Mr Dingle, whose enforced resignation from Angel Hill School leads to a (very minor) revolution. The kids, led by Jeremy Spenser and Dorothy Bromiley, are charming, and, thanks to an excellent Ted Willis screenplay, the adults are utterly believable, as is the studio construction of the school."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

said: "Very acceptable but totally forgettable star comedy." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "very good", writing: "Tremendous comedy-with-music that only lets its swinging pace drop for a touch of sappy teenage romance. Bubbling, joyous stuff."

References

External links

* {{Cyril Frankel 1956 films Films shot at Associated British Studios 1956 musical comedy films British high school films British musical comedy films Films directed by Cyril Frankel Films with screenplays by Ted Willis, Baron Willis 1950s English-language films 1950s British films English-language musical comedy films