Afterword - British Pop Music Movies
by JohnFarrowKarrtorp | created - 20 Apr 2019 | updated - 10 May 2019 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Ring-A-Ding Rhythm! (1962)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Musical
Two teens organize a jazz festival despite objections from the mayor.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: Helen Shapiro, Craig Douglas, John Leyton, The Brook Brothers
Votes: 421
2. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Musical
Over two "typical" days in the life of The Beatles, the boys struggle to keep themselves and Sir Paul McCartney's mischievous grandfather in check while preparing for a live TV performance.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Votes: 48,112 | Gross: $13.78M
3. Having a Wild Weekend (1965)
Not Rated | 91 min | Comedy, Music
Dinah is a model whose face appears in an ad campaign for meat. While shooting a TV commercial, she and Steve, one of the stunt men, run off together. The advertising executives use their disappearance to generate more publicity for meat.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Dave Clark, The Dave Clark Five, Barbara Ferris, David Lodge
Votes: 847
4. Help! (1965)
G | 92 min | Adventure, Comedy, Musical
Sir Ringo Starr finds himself the human sacrifice target of a cult, and his fellow members of The Beatles must try to protect him from it.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Votes: 21,127 | Gross: $13.08M
5. Expresso Bongo (1959)
Not Rated | 111 min | Drama, Music
Sleazy talent agent Johnny Jackson discovers teenager Bert Rudge singing in a coffee house. Despite Bert's protestation that he really is only interested in playing bongos, Johnny starts ... See full summary »
Director: Val Guest | Stars: Laurence Harvey, Sylvia Syms, Yolande Donlan, Cliff Richard
Votes: 579
6. The Duke Wore Jeans (1958)
90 min | Comedy, Musical
A Cockney lad who pretends to be a Lord in order to woo a South American princess.
Director: Gerald Thomas | Stars: Tommy Steele, June Laverick, Michael Medwin, Alan Wheatley
Votes: 112
7. Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969)
X | 107 min | Comedy, Musical
Heironymus Merkin (Anthony Newley) screens an autobiographical movie of his life, growth, and moral decay.
Directors: Anthony Newley, Richard Williams | Stars: Anthony Newley, Joan Collins, Alexander Newley, Tara Newley Arkle
Votes: 413
8. Rock Around the World (1957)
70 min | Biography, Drama, Music
This is the story of the early life and rise to fame of Tommy Steele. His manager wanted him to be a tough rock'n'roller and so challenge Elvis Presley but Tommy is too nice. He becomes famous anyway!!
Director: Gerard Bryant | Stars: Tommy Steele, Humphrey Lyttelton, Chas McDevitt, Nancy Whiskey
Votes: 150
9. Tommy the Toreador (1959)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Musical
Tommy is a happy sailor, travelling the world, singing his favourite songs. When he visits Spain, he gets mistaken for a famous bullfighter. Tommy finishes up in the bull-ring facing a VERY... See full summary »
Director: John Paddy Carstairs | Stars: Tommy Steele, Janet Munro, Sidney James, Bernard Cribbins
Votes: 154
10. Just for Fun (1963)
72 min | Comedy, Musical
With an election approaching, the two major political parties in England work desperately to capture the enthusiasm of teenagers, who have been granted the right to vote. When the prime ... See full summary »
Director: Gordon Flemyng | Stars: Mark Wynter, Cherry Roland, Alan Caddy, Bobby Vee
Votes: 75
11. Play It Cool (1962)
82 min | Drama, Musical
Stars Billy Fury (Britain's answer to Elvis Presley) and features cameos from some other stars from the sixties, with Bobby Vee, Helen Shapiro and Shane Fenton (better known as Alvin ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Billy Fury, Michael Anderson Jr., Dennis Price, Richard Wattis
Votes: 244
12. Smashing Time (1967)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Musical
Two young women arrive in London to make it big in show business, and become corrupted by money and fame in the process.
Director: Desmond Davis | Stars: Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave, Michael York, Anna Quayle
Votes: 624 | Gross: $0.63M
13. Three Hats for Lisa (1965)
99 min | Comedy, Musical
Three young Cockneys take a day off work to meet a foreign movie star at Heathrow Airport. She joins them and their taxi driver while she collects some typically British hats. The main rule... See full summary »
Director: Sidney Hayers | Stars: Joe Brown, Sophie Hardy, Sidney James, Una Stubbs
Votes: 199
14. Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964)
G | 88 min | Musical
Gerry and Fred Marsden, Les McGuire, and Les "Chad" Chadwick portray themselves in a romp through the early-1960s Liverpool Beat Scene. Art students by day and musicians by night, the boys'... See full summary »
Director: Jeremy Summers | Stars: Gerry and the Pacemakers, Mona Washbourne, George A. Cooper, Patricia Lawrence
Votes: 194
15. Hold On! (1966)
Not Rated | 85 min | Musical, Comedy
British beat group Herman's Hermits, on tour in the USA, is offered an opportunity to have a spaceship named after the group. Several people seem to care whether it happens or not.
Director: Arthur Lubin | Stars: Peter Noone, Karl Green, Keith Hopwood, Derek Leckenby
Votes: 368
16. Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968)
G | 110 min | Comedy, Musical
Friends Herman, Karl, Keith, Derek, and Barry are working-class Manchester lads who aren't getting far in their working lives. That fact is epitomized by Herman's failure to get the ... See full summary »
Director: Saul Swimmer | Stars: Peter Noone, Karl Green, Keith Hopwood, Derek Leckenby
Votes: 578
17. Bula Quo! (2013)
Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt from legendary English rock group Status Quo witness a gang murder in Fiji. They flee with crucial evidence; have they played their last gig?
Director: Stuart St Paul | Stars: Jon Lovitz, Craig Fairbrass, Laura Aikman, Francis Rossi
Votes: 366
18. Take It or Leave It (1981)
87 min | Documentary, Comedy, Music
Autobiographical account of the cult 80's British pop group Madness, with members of the group playing themselves, charting their rise from humble beginnings as pub band The Invaders to ... See full summary »
Director: Dave Robinson | Stars: Suggs, Mark Bedford, Lee Thompson, Carl Smyth
Votes: 240
19. S Club Seeing Double (2003)
PG-13 | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
When the members of S Club complain about how tough it is to stay on top, they find themselves replaced by lookalikes... or are they?
Director: Nigel Dick | Stars: Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O'Meara, Jon Lee
Votes: 1,136
20. It Couldn't Happen Here (1987)
PG-13 | 86 min | Adventure, Drama, Musical
A young boy's holiday at a seaside resort includes a crazy blind priest, nuns in suspenders and a whole bunch of fat ladies.
Director: Jack Bond | Stars: Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe, Joss Ackland, Dominique Barnes
Votes: 845
21. Honest (2000)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
The film is an edgy black comedy set in swinging London in the late 60s. The All Saints girls play three street wise sisters who head 'up West' to rob and generally cause trouble.
Director: David A. Stewart | Stars: Nicole Appleton, Natalie Appleton, Melanie Blatt, Derek Deadman
Votes: 642
22. Spice World (1997)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Family, Music
World-famous pop group the Spice Girls zip around London in their luxurious double-decker tour bus having various adventures and performing for their fans.
Director: Bob Spiers | Stars: Mel B, Emma Bunton, Melanie C, Geri Horner
Votes: 37,853 | Gross: $29.34M
23. Wings of Desire (1987)
PG-13 | 128 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
An angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois
Votes: 77,086 | Gross: $3.33M
24. Wild for Kicks (1960)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama
An impetuous teenage girl becomes involved with Soho's beatnik and striptease scenes to spite her staid architect father and her French ex-stripper stepmother.
Director: Edmond T. Gréville | Stars: David Farrar, Noëlle Adam, Christopher Lee, Gillian Hills
Votes: 1,255
25. Performance (1970)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama
A violent East London gangster undergoes a transformation of identity while hiding from his former colleagues in the home of a jaded Bohemian rock star and his two girlfriends.
Directors: Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg | Stars: James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, Michèle Breton
Votes: 11,331 | Gross: $0.19M
26. Privilege (1967)
103 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Britain's biggest pop singer, Steven Shorter (Paul Jones), receives unwavering adulation and possesses total control over his rabid fans, which includes nearly the entire population. Yet ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Watkins | Stars: Paul Jones, Jean Shrimpton, Mark London, William Job
Votes: 1,318
27. Summer Holiday (1963)
Approved | 107 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Four bus mechanics and a stowaway travel Europe as a hotel, picking up singers. In Athens, the stowaway's mother has them arrested for kidnapping but then accepts her daughter's love for a mechanic and they vacation in Greece.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters, Melvyn Hayes, Una Stubbs
Votes: 1,837
28. The Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage (1969)
14 min | Short, Comedy, Music
The Bonzo Dog Band drive into the country in a truck, unload their equipment in some woods only to find some of it taken away by some children. They eat and play at a party, and the Bonzos ... See full summary »
Director: David Korr | Stars: Neil Innes, Vivian Stanshall, Roger Ruskin Spear, 'Legs' Larry Smith
Votes: 12
29. Wonderful to Be Young! (1961)
Not Rated | 92 min | Comedy, Musical
Nicky and his friends find that their youth club is in danger of being flattened to make way for a new office block unless they can come up with £1500 to pay the new owner, the ruthless ... See full summary »
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Cliff Richard, Robert Morley, Carole Gray, Jet Harris
Votes: 731
30. Swingers' Paradise (1964)
Not Rated | 113 min | Music, Musical, Romance
A group of (literally) drifting popsters find themselves involved in a grim sand-and-sandals desert movie. They reckon a few song-and-dance numbers would liven things up.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Cliff Richard, Walter Slezak, Susan Hampshire, Hank B. Marvin
Votes: 328
31. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Music
Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Kimberly Stringer
Votes: 147,412 | Gross: $4.74M
32. One Direction: This Is Us (2013)
PG | 92 min | Documentary, Music
A look at Niall, Zayn, Liam, Louis, and Harry's meteoric rise to fame, from their humble hometown beginnings and competing on the X-Factor, to conquering the world and performing at London's famed O2 Arena.
Director: Morgan Spurlock | Stars: Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan
Votes: 24,946 | Gross: $28.87M
33. Ain't Misbehavin' (1997)
TV-14 | 150 min | Comedy, Musical, War
Wartime comedy about two very different bandsmen (Eddie and Eric) and their misadventures with gangsters, romance, and black-marketing in Blitz-time London.
Stars: Jerome Flynn, Robson Green, Warren Mitchell, Julia Sawalha
Votes: 97
34. Absolute Beginners (1986)
PG-13 | 108 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In London in 1958, a young photographer seeks media stardom to keep the love of a beautiful, aspiring fashion designer.
Director: Julien Temple | Stars: Patsy Kensit, Eddie O'Connell, David Bowie, James Fox
Votes: 3,730 | Gross: $0.93M
35. Sid and Nancy (1986)
R | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman, Debby Bishop
Votes: 34,703 | Gross: $2.83M
36. The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980)
TV-MA | 103 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Music
Filmmaker Julien Temple chronicles the Sex Pistols' tumultuous rise to fame, as told by their manager, Malcolm McLaren.
Director: Julien Temple | Stars: Malcolm McLaren, Sid Vicious, Steve Jones, Paul Cook
Votes: 2,429
37. Rude Boy (1980)
R | 133 min | Drama, Music
A young British punk and roadie for The Clash navigates life in socially torn 1970s England.
Directors: Jack Hazan, David Mingay | Stars: Ray Gange, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon
Votes: 1,605
38. The Filth and the Fury (2000)
R | 108 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A film about the career of the notorious punk rock band, the Sex Pistols.
Director: Julien Temple | Stars: Paul Cook, Steve Jones, John Lydon, Glen Matlock
Votes: 6,206 | Gross: $0.61M
39. Oil City Confidential (2009)
104 min | Documentary, Music
The story of Dr Feelgood, four men in cheap suits who crashed out of Canvey Island in the early '70s, sandpapered the face of rock'n'roll, leaving all that came before a burnt-out ruin - ... See full summary »
Director: Julien Temple | Stars: Lee Brilleaux, Wilko Johnson, John Martin, John B. Sparkes
Votes: 635
40. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
R | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music
A confined but troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson, Eleanor David
Votes: 85,413 | Gross: $22.24M
41. Quadrophenia (1979)
R | 120 min | Drama, Music
Jimmy Cooper loathes his dead-end job and his working-class parents. He seeks solace with his mod clique, scooter riding, and drugs, only to be disappointed.
Director: Franc Roddam | Stars: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Phil Davis, Mark Wingett
Votes: 20,881
42. Tommy (1975)
PG | 111 min | Drama, Musical
A psychosomatically blind, deaf, and mute boy becomes a master pinball player and, subsequently, the figurehead of a cult.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Elton John
Votes: 22,642 | Gross: $34.25M
43. Rock Follies (1976)
Drama, Music
Three actresses, lumbered by useless boyfriends, are plucked from a theatrical chorus-line to form a manufactured rock group: the 'Little Ladies'.
Stars: Charlotte Cornwell, Julie Covington, Rula Lenska, Billy Murray
Votes: 149
44. Tutti Frutti (1987)
69 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Trouble ensues for the Majestics, Scotland's "Kings of Rock", when a good-looking redhead joins the band on tour.
Stars: Robbie Coltrane, Maurice Roëves, Emma Thompson, Stuart McGugan
Votes: 456
45. Pennies from Heaven (1978–1979)
450 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A travelling sheet music salesman with an uptight wife throws everything away for the love of an innocent school teacher in the romantic spirit of the music he loves, that bursts into his life in full song-and-dance numbers.
Stars: Cheryl Campbell, Bob Hoskins, Gemma Craven, Kenneth Colley
Votes: 1,209
46. Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)
R | 119 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A music-infused drama about Joe Meek, the flamboyantly gay, tone deaf, songwriter-producer behind the '60s hits "Have I the Right," "Just Like Eddie," "Johnny, Remember Me" and "Telstar."
Director: Nick Moran | Stars: Con O'Neill, Kevin Spacey, Pam Ferris, JJ Feild
Votes: 1,934
47. Four Hits and a Mister (1962)
14 min | Short, Musical
Director: Douglas Hickox | Stars: Acker Bilk, Boscoe Holder
48. It's All Over Town (1964)
Not Rated | 55 min | Musical
A fantastic musical romp through the West End of London in the company of Lance Percival and his fat friend, Willie Rushton. In HD.
Director: Douglas Hickox | Stars: Frankie Vaughan, Lance Percival, William Rushton, Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band
Votes: 82
49. 24 Hour Party People (2002)
R | 117 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester's music to the world.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Steve Coogan, Lennie James, John Thomson, Paul Popplewell
Votes: 39,715 | Gross: $1.13M
50. Control (2007)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to die by suicide at the age of 23.
Director: Anton Corbijn | Stars: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, Alexandra Maria Lara
Votes: 68,580 | Gross: $0.87M
51. Backbeat (1994)
R | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
Director: Iain Softley | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Sheryl Lee, Ian Hart, Gary Bakewell
Votes: 6,585 | Gross: $2.39M
52. The Cool Mikado (1963)
81 min | Musical
Hank, the son of American judge Herbert Mikado, refuses to marry Katie Shaw, whom his father wishes him to marry, and so joins the army. He is stationed in Japan where he falls in love with a Tokyo art student, Yum-Yum.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Frankie Howerd, Stubby Kaye, Mike Winters, Bernie Winters
Votes: 77
53. Yellow Submarine (1968)
G | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
The Beatles agree to accompany Captain Fred in his yellow submarine and go to Pepperland to free it from the music-hating Blue Meanies.
Director: George Dunning | Stars: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon
Votes: 28,042 | Gross: $0.99M
54. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
Director: Jim Sharman | Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien
Votes: 167,016 | Gross: $139.88M
55. Eat the Rich (1987)
R | 90 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Terrorists and a rude waiter attack a politician and take over an exclusive London club.
Director: Peter Richardson | Stars: Nosher Powell, Al Pillay, Ronald Allen, Kevin Allen
Votes: 1,596 | Gross: $0.20M
56. This Is 40 (2012)
R | 134 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Pete and Debbie are both about to turn 40, their kids hate each other, both of their businesses are failing, they're on the verge of losing their house, and their relationship is threatening to fall apart.
Director: Judd Apatow | Stars: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow
Votes: 150,520 | Gross: $67.54M
57. The Ghost Goes Gear (1966)
79 min | Comedy, Musical
Unbeknownst to the Spencer Davis Group, their manager is upper class, grew up in a haunted manor, and is called Algernon. When they visit his home, they find out that the family is broke, ... See full summary »
Director: Hugh Gladwish | Stars: The Spencer Davis Group, Nicholas Parsons, Jack Haig, Arthur Howard
Votes: 57
58. Lisztomania (1975)
R | 103 min | Biography, Comedy, Music
Composer and pianist Franz Liszt (Roger Daltrey) attempts to overcome his hedonistic life-style while repeatedly being drawn back into it by the many women in his life and fellow composer Richard Wagner (Paul Nicholas).
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Roger Daltrey, Sara Kestelman, Paul Nicholas, Ringo Starr
Votes: 3,121
59. The Deadly Bees (1966)
Not Rated | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.
Director: Freddie Francis | Stars: Suzanna Leigh, Frank Finlay, Guy Doleman, Catherine Finn
Votes: 2,251
60. Bedazzled (1967)
Approved | 103 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A hapless loser sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams.
Director: Stanley Donen | Stars: Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Eleanor Bron, Raquel Welch
Votes: 9,820
61. Turned Out Nice Again (1941)
Not Rated | 81 min | Comedy, Musical
George Pearson, who works for a underwear firm that is 20 years out of date, invests his own money in a new type of thread. The company are not interested in changes, and he quits. Later ... See full summary »
Director: Marcel Varnel | Stars: George Formby, Peggy Bryan, Elliott Mason, Edward Chapman
Votes: 245
62. What's Good for the Goose (1969)
105 min | Comedy
A middle aged banker picks up two young free minded women on his way to a banker's convention and falls head over heels for one of them.
Director: Menahem Golan | Stars: Norman Wisdom, Sally Geeson, Sarah Atkinson, Sally Bazely
Votes: 376
63. Topsy-Turvy (1999)
R | 160 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Set in the 1880s, the story of how, during a creative dry spell, the partnership of the legendary musical/theatrical writers Gilbert and Sullivan almost dissolves, before they turn it all around and write the Mikado.
Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Dexter Fletcher, Sukie Smith
Votes: 13,483 | Gross: $6.20M
64. Champagne Charlie (1944)
Approved | 72 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
The story of a 19th century English music hall (vaudeville) performer and life behind the scenes.
Director: Alberto Cavalcanti | Stars: Tommy Trinder, Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren, Jean Kent
Votes: 304
65. Call My Agent! (2015–2020)
TV-MA | 52 min | Comedy, Drama
French serial about the lives and jobs of people working at a talent agency in Paris.
Stars: Camille Cottin, Thibault de Montalembert, Grégory Montel, Liliane Rovère
Votes: 16,740
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