The Young Ones
The Young Ones
| 19 December 1961 (USA)
The Young Ones Trailers

Nicky and his friends find that their youth club is in danger of being flattened to make way for a new office block unless they can come up with £1500 to pay the new owner, the ruthless property tycoon Hamilton Black. To help raise the cash, Nicky records a song and his friends broadcast it via a pirate radio station, touting him as "The Mystery Singer" - the plan works and interest in their up and coming show is heightened by this new but unknown heart-throb. But Nicky has an even bigger secret and one that he cannot share, even with his girlfriend Toni... Hamilton Black is his father.

Reviews
Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
Btexxamar I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.
Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
blanche-2 Cliff Richard stars in The Young Ones, or Wonderful to be Young, from 1961, also starring Robert Morley, Carole Gray, and The Shadows.This is a typical teenage movie with the "Hey, kids, let's put on a show" theme. The kids in this case are British, and their club is being closed due to the sale of the building for a high-rise. What no one knows is the developer, Hamilton Black (Robert Morley) is none other than the father of Nicky (Cliff Richard). Nicky, of course, works on behalf of his cronies but his back always goes out when they have to meet with the old man.There's a renewal clause in the master lease, but Black is a good chess player - they can renew, but it's going to cost them 1500 pounds, a princely sum, up front. The kids decide to raise the money by putting on a show.Like "Summer Holiday," "The Young Ones" is an exuberant, tuneful teen movie, with lots of singing and dancing. Richard doesn't force his acting - he says his lines in a natural manner, and his looks and charm do the rest. His early inspiration was Elvis, and some of his singing is definitely Elvis-like. But it's a different voice and persona -- he's a very smooth singer and his boyish handsomeness, unlike Elvis', is very nonthreatening. I can't imagine anyone breaking his records or coming out against him in a pulpit.This is a very fun film. One can't help being impressed by Richard's longevity - 55 years later, he still looks great, he's still singing, and he's a Sir. He's almost Elvis-lite, a pop icon without the demons that caused us to lose Elvis all too soon.
Wizard-8 I should come out with a confession before I start to review this movie, and that is that until recently, I was pretty ignorant of Cliff Richard. All I knew until about a month ago was one or two of his songs, and I hadn't seen any of his movies. My explanation for that is that I live in North America, where Richard had nowhere the impact he had in England. But recently I rented "Summer Holiday", and now this movie.In this movie, Richard does come across as a kind of likable fellow, one you wouldn't mind meeting in real life (unlike a lot of music stars). However, he is lacking the edge that other musicians who went into movies had (like Elvis and the Beatles). He's pleasant but kind of forgettable. It doesn't help that the songs he sings here are as forgettable as his character here. The script is also very forgettable - it's the old "Let's put on a show!" story, and it unfolds VERY slowly. Had they made fun of this plot or added some memorable elements, things would have been livened up considerably. There's also the question as to why a millionaire's son doesn't have the money himself to pay off the relatively small sum the youth club needs... but I won't get into that.Far from the worst movie ever made, and not really a bad movie. But if you are interested in the cinematic doings of Richard, I suggest you rent "Summer Holiday" instead, which is somewhat more memorable.
dfarmbrough ... The Shadows come off best here with their few lines and great instrumentals undermining the potential datedness of pop stars' movie appearances. However Cliff really rocks and even if the cinematic techniques would be bettered in the follow-up Summer Holiday, the music is just superb.The basic plot of this is so similar to The Blues Brothers it's uncanny. I should be very surprised if John Landis and Dan Aykroyd hadn't seen The Young Ones.Forget about Grazina Frame's dubbed voice, forget about the square old pop played by Robert Morley, and remember the great songs and the unbelievably handsome Cliff!
olav-5 This is the kind of movie to spend your fee on when you were a British teenager in the early sixties. But there is hardly a story, and what there is is very predictable. The movie has two strong moments however: the first 10 minutes are really an example of how a musical can start at full-speed, and the part where Cliff Richard sings the title song, strolling along "the serpentine" in Hyde Park, London, with the lovely Carole Gray aside him. A little bit of a cult movie, and a very weak brother of West side story. But it has its place in history and millions have enjoyed it. Cliff's fans probably still do.