Summer Holiday (1963)

Hard to believe, but the director of Bullitt, Peter Yates, started his career with this carefree musical comedy starring British pop icons Cliff Richard and The Shadows.

Don (Cliff) and his London Transport mechanic pals convert a London double-decker bus into a mobile youth hostel and take a test spin across Europe. They plan originally to go to the South of France, but an accident involving them with an old car belonging to three girls results in a change of plan to go to Athens, where the girls have a singing engagement.

A stowaway ‘lad’ they discover along the way turns out, in fact, to be an American heiress named Barbara Winters (Lauri Peters), on the run from a show-business mum (Madge Ryan).

Though Don has made a point of assuring all and sundry (in song) that he intends to remain a bachelor until his dying day, he proposes to Barbara, and she confesses her undying love to him. Then ( as if you hadn’t guessed) comes the inevitable misunderstanding. When mum – accompanied by hordes of reporters – triumphantly pounces on the party in Athens, Don concludes he’s been made use of for a publicity stunt and (unjustifiably) blames Barbara and wanders off moodily through the glorious Athenian landscape.

Obviously there’s a happy ending and all is sorted out eventually, with the bus and its passengers setting off to return to London.

Ron Moody is madly funny in a miming interlude and Melvyn Hayes and Una Stubbs are outstanding among the young cast.

Don
Cliff Richard
Barbara Winters
Lauri Peters
Cyril
Melvyn Hayes
Sandy
Una Stubbs
Steve
Teddy Green
Angie
Pamela Hart
Edwin
Jeremy Bulloch
Mimsie
Jacqueline Daryl
Jerry
Lionel Murton
Stella Winters
Madge Ryan
Magistrate
David Kossoff
Wrightmore
Nicholas Phipps
Orlando
Ron Moody
The Shadows
Hank B. Marvin
Bruce Welch
Brian Bennett
Brian Locking

Director
Peter Yates

Audio