Summer Holiday

Storyline

Summer Holiday, A fabulous 1960s musical: Four London Bus mechanics strike up a deal with London Transport. They do up a double-decker London Bus, drive it around Europe as a hotel, and if they make it they will own and manage a whole fleet. While on the road in France they pick up three ladies whose car breaks down and offer to take them to their next singing job in Athens. They also pick up a stowaway: a young American boy. Meanwhile, a young American female singer has gone missing. Her VERY ambitious mother and her aide take the story to the press and it makes the front page. They do all they can to make the story run for as long as possible, including misdirecting the bus up an extremely steep Yugoslavian hill. The young American boy turns out to be the missing American girl. Mayhem ensues as the lead character, Don (Cliff Richard) falls for Barbara. Eventually, when the eight bus riders reach Athens, they’re arrested for kidnapping. In front of her mother and a ballroom filled with world-press, Barbara and Don declare their love for each other and the mother accepts–after realizing how ‘big’ Don will become. The film ends with all eight people on a beach in Greece, very much enjoying their well-deserved holiday.

Classic Brit Film From The Iconic 60’s

Summer Holiday, Outstanding musical which topped the UK box office that year, as did The Young Ones the previous year. The storyline is straightforward, but the songs, fashions and odd Brit quirks make this a superb piece of pop history. Cliff is superbly naive and the film is primarily a vehicle to sell his music, but it goes beyond that and is harmless, camp, iconic and superbly dated. Watch it and remember! As for being the British Elvis, I’m not convinced. Cliff always speaks highly of Elvis, but the two are not alike and probably shouldn’t be compared. While there are several other films by Cliff, this and the Young Ones are the ones to watch. Wonderful Life had the same basic cast and formula, but lacked direction. Later films, like Take me High, while offering an idea of the 70’s, don’t quite cut it either. Stick to the big 2 and you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Summer Lovers