Two a Penny | |
---|---|
Directed by | James F. Collier |
Written by | Stella Linden (original story and screenplay) |
Produced by | Frank R. Jacobson |
Starring | Cliff Richard Ann Holloway Dora Bryan Avril Angers Geoffrey Bayldon Peter Barkworth Mona Washbourne Earl Cameron Charles Lloyd-Pack Billy Graham |
Cinematography | Michael Reed |
Edited by | Ann Chegwidden Eugene Pendleton |
Music by | Mike Leander Cliff Richard |
Distributed by | World Wide Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 min |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Two a Penny is a 1967 British film, released nationally in 1968, directed by James F. Collier and starring Cliff Richard. [1] [2] It was produced by Frank R. Jacobson for Billy Graham's film distribution and production company World Wide Pictures [3] [4] The original story and screenplay was by Stella Linden.
Jamie Hopkins is an art student and frustrated pop star who lives with his mother. She works as a receptionist for Dr. Berman, a psychiatrist who is experimenting with psychedelic drugs. Jamie wants to make money quickly, and begins to work at the doctor's office as a pretence in order to steal drugs. [5]
When his girlfriend Carol is converted to Christianity while attending a crusade led by evangelist Billy Graham, she attempts to show him the error of his ways. Soon after, Jamie is caught stealing from Dr. Berman's drug supply, and attempting to double-cross drug dealer Alec Fitch.
Initially hostile toward his girlfriend's newfound faith, Jamie eventually accepts it.
Billy Graham was filmed at his "London Crusade" in 1967.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A naive piece of propaganda which makes its intentions clear from the start by introducing us to wicked Jamie as he borrows money from his girl in the symbolically looming shadow of a church. His subsequent progress from degradation to salvation moves unerringly from cliché to cliché, none more mawkishly embarrassing than the one in which poor abandoned Carol, stammering out a line or two of "The Lord's Prayer" in a churchyard at night, is rewarded by the prompt appearance of Cliff Richard with a comforting song on his lips. Avril Angers manages a few tart exchanges as a lecherous landlady with fond memories of wartime gaieties with ENSA; otherwise the general air of Sunday School homily is unrelieved." [6]
Kine Weekly wrote: "A sincere, good film, this is also remarkably entertaining and free from religious cant. ... The picture is a religious tract but it has been so intelligently conceived and written, and it is so sincerely and professionally acted by its principal, that it can qualify as entertaining in most situations. Except for one or two moments, the script avoids the kind of sentimentality that so often presents religious sincerity as a kind of mawkish mush." [7]
Two a Penny | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | August 1968 [8] | |||
Recorded | Jun-Oct 1967, May 1968 [8] | |||
Studio | EMI Abbey Road [8] | |||
Label | Columbia Columbia SCX 6262 [9] | |||
Producer | Norrie Paramor | |||
Cliff Richard chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Two a Penny | ||||
|
The soundtrack album Two a Penny by Cliff Richard was released in August 1968. It was his fifth film soundtrack and his twenty-third album overall. [8] Accompaniment is credited to the Mike Leander Orchestra and production to Norrie Paramor. [9]
Track listing:
Side A:
Side B:
Sir Cliff Richard is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Michael Whitaker Smith is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the course of his career, he has sold more than 18 million albums.
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director and producer, best known for Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949), and Oliver! (1968), for which he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Director.
Love Actually is a 2003 romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The Christmas holiday film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous projects. An international co-production between the U.K., U.S., and France, it was mostly filmed on-location in London, England. The movie delves into different aspects of love as shown through 10 separate stories involving a variety of individuals, many of whom are interlinked as the plot progresses. The story begins five weeks before Christmas and is played out in a weekly countdown until the holiday, followed by an epilogue that takes place in the New Year.
Almost Famous is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It tells the story of a teenage journalist, played by Fugit, writing for Rolling Stone magazine in the early 1970s, touring with the fictitious rock band Stillwater, and writing his first cover story on the band. The film is semi-autobiographical, as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman, and was first broadcast in 1969 and 1970. In the United States, it was given the title My Partner the Ghost.
Nicholas Christian Hopkins was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably on songs recorded by the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, the Beatles, the Steve Miller Band, Jefferson Airplane, Rod Stewart, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Hollies, Cat Stevens, Carly Simon, Harry Nilsson, Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, Jerry Garcia, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Art Garfunkel, Badfinger, Graham Parker, Gary Moore, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Donovan. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest studio pianists in the history of popular rock music.
Summer Holiday is a 1963 British CinemaScope and Technicolor musical film starring singer Cliff Richard. The film was directed by Peter Yates, produced by Kenneth Harper. The original screenplay was written by Peter Myers and Ronald Cass.
World Wide Pictures (WWP) is a film distributor and production company established as a subsidiary of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in 1951. It is involved in the production and distribution of evangelistic films, the production of Graham crusade films, and publicity for Graham crusades.
Please Sir! is a British television sitcom created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and featuring actors John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Penny Spencer, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty and Richard Davies. Produced by London Weekend Television for ITV, the series ran for 55 episodes between 1968 and 1972.
Take Me High is a 1973 British film directed by David Askey and starring Cliff Richard, Deborah Watling, Hugh Griffith, George Cole and Anthony Andrews. It was written by Christopher Penfold.
Peter Eric Zizzo is an American songwriter, music producer, musician and writer. Zizzo is also a stage and television actor, having appeared in the Showtime series Billions in 2021. Zizzo has written hits for artists such as Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Jennifer Lopez, Marit Larsen, O.A.R, Jason Mraz, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, M2M, Cliff Richard, Clay Aiken, Howie Day, Kate Voegele, Jackie Evancho, Pixie Lott, Vanessa Carlton, and many others. He has been considered instrumental in developing the careers of artists Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton in the US, and Pixie Lott in the UK. Recordings of his songs have collectively sold in excess of 100 million copies worldwide.
Billy: The Early Years is a 2008 American biographical film directed by Robby Benson. The film tells the story of the early life of evangelist Billy Graham, played by Armie Hammer. After almost a year and a half of delays, the film was released on DVD on March 16, 2010.
London Boulevard is a 2010 British crime thriller film written and directed by William Monahan, based on Ken Bruen's 2001 novel of the same name. The film stars Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, and Ray Winstone. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2010, by Entertainment Film Distributors.
Made in Dagenham is a 2010 British comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole, written by William Ivory, and starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays and Richard Schiff. It dramatises the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women. Its theme song, with lyrics by Billy Bragg, is performed by Sandie Shaw, a native of the area and former Ford Dagenham clerk.
Southpaw is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by Kurt Sutter and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker and Rachel McAdams. The film follows a boxer who sets out to get his life back on track after losing his wife after a gunshot and later his young daughter to child protective services. The film was released on July 24, 2015, by The Weinstein Company. The film received mixed reviews from critics, while Gyllenhaal and Oona Laurence's performances received positive reviews. The film grossed $95 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million.
Wiretapper is a 1955 American biographical crime drama film directed by Dick Ross, written by John O'Dea, and starring Bill Williams, Georgia Lee and Douglas Kennedy. The scenario of the film was based on the true story of Jim Vaus Jr. The score was composed by Ralph Carmichael.
"Lonely Blue Boy" is a song written by Ben Weisman and Fred Wise and performed by Conway Twitty. It reached #6 on the U.S. pop chart and #27 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1960. It was featured on his 1960 album Lonely Blue Boy.
"I'll Love You Forever Today" is a song by British singer Cliff Richard released as a single in June 1968. It peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.