This British musical comedy from 1963 was essentially a hastily put-together showcase for pop stars of the time, Joe Brown, Marty Wilde and Susan Maughan.
Brown stars as unemployed East End lad Alf Hitchens who has an on-off relationship with his girlfriend Marilyn (Maughan), whilst trying to sell a song he has written. But it’s Wilde who steals the show as roughneck Herbie Shadbolt.
Filmed in black and white, it mixes together a bit of everything that was popular during the early 1960s, from kitchen sink social drama to musical numbers, dance scenes, and street gang culture (and even a bit of racial stereotyping in the labour exchange-based musical number A Lay-About’s Lament).
The depiction of working-class life is as accurate as any kitchen sink drama from the period and the musical segments are great fun, particularly the highlight where the hilarious Freddie and the Dreamers turn up for a nightclub act and indulge in their trouser-losing routine onstage.
Michael Ripper appears in a number of cameo roles, complaining about the “bleeding kids”.
Those who like to watch vintage movies to see the locations will be extremely well-served by What a Crazy World as most of it was shot on location in London streets, so if you know the area you can spot where bits were set, and if not you can soak up as authentic an atmosphere as you can get.
Joey Hitchens
Michael Goodman Alf Hitchens
Joe Brown Marilyn Bishop
Susan Maughan Doris
Grazina Frame Herbie Shadbolt
Marty Wilde Lil
Lesley Duncan Lenny
David Nott Dave
Barry Bethel Jervis
Alan Klein Sam
Harry H. Corbett Mary
Avis Bunnage The Common Man
Michael Ripper Chas
Larry Dann Harry
Brian Cronin Secretary
Tracy Rogers Dolly
Fanny Carby Solly Gold
Monte Landis Elsie
Christine Martin Horror
Denise Coffey Freddy
Peter Birrell George
Harry Locke Percy
Michael Robbins Freddie & The Dreamers
Themselves The Bruvvers
Themselves The Happy Wanderers
Themselves
Director
Michael Carreras
Video
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Joey Hitchens
