Expresso Bongo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Expresso Bongo | |
| Music | Monty Norman, David Heneker |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Monty Norman, Julian Moore |
| Book | Julian More, Wolf Mankovitz |
| Expresso Bongo | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Val Guest |
| Written by | Wolf Mankowitz Julian More (Play) |
| Starring | Laurence Harvey Cliff Richard Yolande Donlan |
| Music by | Robert Farnon |
| Cinematography | John Wilcox |
| Editing by | Bill Lenny |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films |
| Release date(s) | 1959 |
| Running time | 111 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Val Guest |
| IMDb profile | |
Expresso Bongo is a musical first produced on the stage at the Saville Theatre, London on 23 April 1958. Its book was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Julian More, with music written by David Heneker and Monty Norman, also the co-lyricist with Julian More. The production starred Paul Scofield with Hy Hazell, Millicent Martin and James Kenney. Subsequently it became a 1959 film directed by Val Guest and starring Laurence Harvey, Cliff Richard, and Yolande Donlan.
[edit] Plot
Laurence Harvey plays sleazy hustler Johnny Jackson, who is always on the lookout for fresh talent to exploit, while managing his hectic life with his stripper girlfriend. Maise is looking to find a better life in singing. He discovers a teenage singer named Bert Rudge in a coffee shop and sets about sending him along the rocky road to fame. He changes his name to Bongo Herbert and soon gets him a record deal and a relationship with singing sensation Dixie, played by Yolande Donlan.
However, Bongo soon realizes that his 50/50 contract with Johnny isn't as great as he thought it was, and breaks from Johnny's contract with help from Dixie.
This film also featured the band the Shadows, whose guitarist Hank Marvin greatly influenced such young guitarists as Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.
[edit] External links
- http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsN/norman-monty.html Monty Norman plays
- Expresso Bongo at the Internet Movie Database
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