''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 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

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 recor ...

, Janet Munro,

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a South African–British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinctive laugh, he was best known for numerou ...

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

, Noel Purcell and

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. 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 ''Carry ...

Premise

A British ship docks in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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

Cast

as Tommy * Janet Munro as Amanda *

as Cadena *

as Paco * Noel Purcell as Captain * Virgílio 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 regime. ...

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 Sai ...

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

It was the third of three movies Tommy Steele made for Nat Cohen. Janet Munro was borrowed from

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

, 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 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...

. There was location filming in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

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''. 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'' 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 ...

, 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." ''Filmink'' wrote "it's a sweet film and Munro is delightful."

Box office

''Kine Weekly'' called it a "money maker" at the British box office in 1960.

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, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

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 Films scored by Stanley Black English-language musical comedy films {{musical-comedy-film-stub