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{{italic title}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Music Machine
| image =
| image size =
| caption =
| director = [[Ian Sharp]]
| producer = [[Brian Smedley-Aston]]<br>'''executive'''<br>James Kenelm Clarke
| writer = [[James Kenelm Clarke]]<br>additional dialogue<br>Alan Drury<br>Roger Headey<br>Terry Wilton
| based on =
| narrator =
| starring = [[Gerry Sundquist]]<br>[[Patti Boulaye]]
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio =
| distributor = Target International
| released = 1979
| runtime =
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget = $500,000<ref name="los">ENGLAND'S ANSWER TO TRAVOLTA
Hall, William. Los Angeles Times 15 Apr 1979: k84. </ref> or £125,000<ref name="guard">Chirpy as the Crickets
The Guardian 14 June 1979: 10.</ref>
| gross =
| preceded by =
| followed by =
}}

'''''The Music Machine''''' is a 1979 British [[musical film|musical]] [[drama film]] directed by [[Ian Sharp]] and starring [[Gerry Sundquist]], [[Patti Boulaye]] and [[David Easter]].<ref>http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/63923</ref>
'''''The Music Machine''''' is a 1979 British [[musical film|musical]] [[drama film]] directed by [[Ian Sharp]] and starring [[Gerry Sundquist]], [[Patti Boulaye]] and [[David Easter]].<ref>http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/63923</ref>

It was called the first all-British disco film.<ref name="los"/>


==Plot summary==
==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 Perryman) and winds up dancing with Claire. He is double crossed by managed Nick Dryden.
At a London [[disco]], a contest is held to find two dancers to star in a film, leading to extremely vicious competition.


==Cast==
==Cast==
Line 11: Line 40:
* [[Patti Boulaye]]... Claire
* [[Patti Boulaye]]... Claire
* [[David Easter]] ... Howard
* [[David Easter]] ... Howard
*Mandy Perryman
*Hector Woodville
* [[Michael Feast]] ... Nick Dryden
* [[Michael Feast]] ... Nick Dryden
* [[Ferdy Mayne]] ... Basil Silverman
* [[Ferdy Mayne]] ... Basil Silverman
Line 21: Line 52:
* [[John Gorman (entertainer)|John Gorman]] ... Newsagent
* [[John Gorman (entertainer)|John Gorman]] ... Newsagent
*Christopher Pichaeli ... Dancer
*Christopher Pichaeli ... Dancer
==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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iansharp.net/profile/|title=Profile|website=Ian Sharp}}</ref>

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."<ref name="los"/>

Sunquist did intensive training to be able to dance.<ref name="los"/> The film was shot over three weeks.<ref name="guard"/>
==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."<ref name="guard"/>


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 camraderie, the unforced affection of Gerry's relationship with his parents, and some odd quirky scenes here and there."<ref>The sound of Buddy: Cinema
<br />
French, Philip. The Observer 17 June 1979: 14. </ref>
==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>
Line 28: Line 68:
==External links==
==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0079595}}
*{{IMDb title|0079595}}
*[https://letterboxd.com/film/the-music-machine/ ''The Music Machine''] at Letterbox DVD
*[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/84243/Music-Machine-The/full-credits.html ''The Music Machine''] at [[TCMDB]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Machine (film), The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Machine (film), The}}

Revision as of 01:03, 27 February 2019

The Music Machine
Directed byIan Sharp
Written byJames Kenelm Clarke
additional dialogue
Alan Drury
Roger Headey
Terry Wilton
Produced byBrian Smedley-Aston
executive
James Kenelm Clarke
StarringGerry Sundquist
Patti Boulaye
Distributed byTarget International
Release date
1979
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000[1] or £125,000[2]

The Music Machine is a 1979 British musical drama film directed by Ian Sharp and starring Gerry Sundquist, Patti Boulaye and David Easter.[3]

It was called the first all-British disco film.[1]

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 Perryman) and winds up dancing with Claire. He is double crossed by managed 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.[4]

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."[1]

Sunquist did intensive training to be able to dance.[1] The film was shot over three weeks.[2]

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."[2]

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 camraderie, the unforced affection of Gerry's relationship with his parents, and some odd quirky scenes here and there."[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d ENGLAND'S ANSWER TO TRAVOLTA Hall, William. Los Angeles Times 15 Apr 1979: k84.
  2. ^ a b c Chirpy as the Crickets The Guardian 14 June 1979: 10.
  3. ^ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/63923
  4. ^ "Profile". Ian Sharp.
  5. ^ The sound of Buddy: Cinema French, Philip. The Observer 17 June 1979: 14.

External links


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