When A Hard Days Night exploded onto the scene in 1964, its charm and success was simply ripe for some good ol’ fashioned bootlegging. What followed was a a half-decade of wannabe music movies – specifically, movies in which pop bands play themselves while still following a strictly scripted plot. Mainly these were vehicles for British boy bands, but eventually they started to extend over to the Americas – where they warped from wholesome to hippie.
In this season finale, Bart and Jenna tackle several of these band movies head on – and with Head on . It’s an episode full of high highs (marijuana and LSD) and low lows (Herman’s Hermits and Freddie and the Dreamers), but quite frankly they’re all a treat as its such a decade-specific genre. Get ready for a whole lot of restless youths, square plots, stoner humor, and screaming, adoring fans.
The following films are discussed:• Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964) Directed by Jeremy Summers Starring Gerry & The Pacemakers, Mona Washbourne, Cilla Black
• Having a Wild Weekend (1965) Catch Us If You Can Directed by John Boorman Starring The Dave Clark Five, Barbara Ferris, Yootha Joyce
• Help! (1965) Directed by Richard Lester Starring The Beatles, Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron
• Hold On! (1966) Directed by Arthur Lubin Starring Herman’s Hermits, Shelley Fabares, Sue Ane Langdon
• The Cuckoo Patrol (1967) Directed by Duncan Wood Starring Freddie & The Dreamers, Kenneth Connor, Victor Maddern
• Good Times (1967) Directed by William Friedkin Starring Sonny & Cher, George Sanders, Norman Alden
• Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968) Directed by Saul Swimmer Starring Herman’s Hermits, Sheila White, Sarah Caldwell
• Head (1968) Directed by Bob Rafelson Starring The Monkees, Victor Mature, Annette Funicello
Also mentioned:
• The Ghost Goes Gear (1966) Directed by Hugh Gladwish Starring The Spencer Davis Group, Nicholas Parsons, Sheila White
• Los chicos con las chicas (1967) Directed by Javier Aguirre Starring Los Bravos, Enriqueta Carballeira, Manolo Gómez Bur
• Dame un poco de amooor...! (1968) Directed by José María Forqué Starring Los Bravos, Rosenda Monteros, Luis Peña
