It's Trad, Dad! (1962)

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

IT'S TRAD, DAD! is a curio and a musical from 1962 which looks at the phenomenon of 'traditional jazz' as opposed to the more popular rock and roll that was doing the rounds back in the day. It's a first for both director Richard Lester, who of course would later make IT'S A HARD DAY'S NIGHT with The Beatles, no less, and also for British film studio Amicus Productions, who would later become famous for their classic selection of horror anthologies. It was written by Milton Subotsky, too. The film itself is a plotless affair of some lame, dated jokes and endless cameos from various comedy and musical stars of the day. The biggest attraction is a number of songs played in a brightly-lit white studio from luminaries including Acker Bilk, Del Shannon, Chubby Checker, and many others.

After reading all the positive comments on Ring-a-Ding Rhythm it seems a shame to criticize but here goes.I thought the movie was awful, leads Douglas and Shapiro couldn't act (they made a total of one more film between them!), the "pop' performers were bland with the songs totally forgettable and it's obvious why the British trad jazz craze was soon blown away by the Beatles et al.Speaking of the Beatles, I couldn't for the life of me see, though of course others did, how Richard Lester was given two Beatles films to direct on the strength of this. All the humour here was, to me, embarrassingly, excruciatingly unfunny.One other thing that bothered me was the glorification of smoking. Two singers, John Leyton and Gene McDaniels actually drew on cigarettes while they were singing, "Mister" Acker Bilk had a lit cigarette between his fingers as he played his clarinet and legendary Australian DJ Alan "Fluff" Freeman is seldom seen without a smoke.Sorry, fans, I hated it.

If anyone is curious to look at 1961/62 U.K. just before The Beatles would make their way to American shores, then this is an excellent look at that moment of the British musical landscape. More then anything this film is about Art Direction. This is the kind of film that would show off Lester's amazing visual sense & get him hired to direct one of the great musicals of the 60's, "A Hard Days Night". The other quality I love about this film is the strange mixture of Folk, Dixie Jazz, R&B & Rock & Roll. I love how just 2 years before the Rock & Roll revolution would take hold that there seems to be such a wild mix of styles all floating around & waiting to take shape. Please see this film simply to get a peek at Lester's wonderful sense of visual delights. It very much has the feel of a magazine article come to life. Bravo!

Fun, music-filled film about a teenage boy and girl from a small, nameless UK village who want to bring a jazz show to their town. But one problem - they must go up against town mayor, a guy who thinks the local teenagers are disrupting the peace with their WILD music. The two youths head out to the big city in search of a disc jockey who can bring some great bands to their town for the show.This is an enjoyable, funny film fully loaded with great musical acts performed by a variety of performers. Though this film does drag a bit in the second half, it is still a treat to see, full of innovative photography in the musical segments, amusing voice-over narration and British humor throughout the film in a style that reminded me of "Monty Python". The version I saw of this film, as shown on TCM, featured a very clear print. Good fun.