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The Music Machine (film)

{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}

{{Infobox film

| name = The Music Machine

| image = The_Music_Machine_(film).png

| caption =

| director = Ian Sharp

| producer = Brian Smedley-Aston
executive
James Kenelm Clarke

| writer = James Kenelm Clarke
additional dialogue
Alan Drury
Roger Headey
Terry Wilton

| based_on =

| narrator =

| starring = Gerry Sundquist
Patti Boulaye

| music =

| cinematography =

| editing =

| studio =

| distributor = Target International

| released = {{Film date|1979}}

| runtime =

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| budget = $500,000England's Answer To Travolta

Hall, William. Los Angeles Times 15 Apr 1979: k84. or £125,000Chirpy as the Crickets

The Guardian 14 June 1979: 10.

| gross =

}}

The Music Machine is a 1979 British musical drama film directed by Ian Sharp and starring Gerry Sundquist, Patti Boulaye and David Easter.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090117233702/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/63923 BFI.org]

It was called the first all-British disco film.

Plot summary

In a north London music hall, local kids dance at the disco, where the DJ is Laurie. A contest is held by an impresario (Hector Woodville) to find two dancers to star in a film. Gerry is a club regular who lives with his mum and dad (a projectionist). Gerry wants to impress another dancer (Mandy Perryment) and winds up dancing with Claire. He is double-crossed by manager Nick Dryden.

Cast

Production

Director Ian Sharp was working at the BBC as a documentary filmmaker. They gave him a three-month sabbatical to make the movie, which Sharp says ignited his interest in working in drama.{{cite web|url=https://iansharp.net/profile/|title=Profile|website=Ian Sharp}}

The film's star Gerry Sundquist was best known for his work in the National Theatre and was cast even though he could not dance. "It all happened so quickly," he later said. "I couldn't believe it. I was a bit worried at first - it's not exactly Richard the Third is it?... It's about a boy who is really untogether at the beginning. He's got lots of energy and zitz and he wants to be the greatest in a dance competition. But he's like me - he's got two left feet."

Sunquist did intensive training to be able to dance. The film was shot over three weeks.

Reception

The Guardian said the film "limps a bit" but "does have some life about it. It isn't as atrocious as it could have been... The trouble is the dancing is actually pretty awful."

The Observer criticised the "poor music and the truly terrible dancing" but thought "several things combine to make it [the film] oddly likeable - the unglamorous view of teenage camaraderie, the unforced affection of Gerry's relationship with his parents, and some odd quirky scenes here and there."The sound of Buddy: Cinema

French, Philip. The Observer 17 June 1979: 14.

References

External links

  • {{IMDb title|0079595}}
  • [https://letterboxd.com/film/the-music-machine/ The Music Machine] at Letterbox DVD
  • [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/84243/the-music-machine#credits The Music Machine] at TCMDB

{{Ian Sharp}}

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Category:1979 films

Category:British musical drama films

Category:Films directed by Ian Sharp

Category:1970s musical drama films

Category:1979 drama films

Category:1970s English-language films

Category:1970s British films

Category:English-language musical drama films

Category:1979 musical films

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