I caught FINDERS KEEPERS on The Mystery Channel, of all things. Well, spies and a missing mini atom bomb *do* figure in the plot, so I guess it's not *totally* out of place on the Mystery Channel lineup... :-) I have sort of a chart for rock 'n' roll comedies, with the following ratings: A HARD DAY'S NIGHT is my "Excellent" rating, HELP! is "Very Good," Elvis Presley's DOUBLE TROUBLE is "Good," THE GHOST GOES GEAR is "Fair," and CATALINA CAPER is "Poor." I place FINDERS KEEPERS somewhere between DOUBLE TROUBLE and THE GHOST GOES GEAR! :-) As screen presences, Cliff Richard and the Shadows don't quite have the sparkle of The Beatles, but they're still pretty cute and amiable, and they're surrounded by such fine British character actors as Robert Morley and Graham Stark. Also, it's sort of oddly endearing to see a film from such an innocent era that an A-bomb can be used as a comic McGuffin (unlike in the recent unfairly underrated BIG TROUBLE; most audiences are too spooked to appreciate the satiric possibilities in their cynically funny, Billy Wilder-esque treatment of atomic bombs and laissez faire airport security...but I digress...). And the use of paella as a love song cue is one of the most hilariously hokey rock movie song cues outside of a typical Elvis Presley flick! If you like Cliff Richard and/or the kind of cheerful lighthearted, lightheaded pop music movies they cranked out in the 1950s and '60s, FINDERS KEEPERS is pleasant fare for a lazy afternoon if you happen to stumble across it on cable.
12 Reviews
Through a distant haze
neil-47619 October 2007
I saw this film just the once, when it first came out and I was in my teens. I remember it being on a par with Cliff's other films - enjoyable, colourful, escapist nonsense, enhanced with some good songs.
But what has happened to it? The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, and Wonderful Life have all featured regularly on British TV and have had video and DVD releases, yet Finders Keepers has disappeared almost without trace (this is also true of Cliff's subsequent films Take Me High and Two A Penny, but they weren't musicals: Finders Keepers is.
The film's songs are all good. Written by the Shadows, they are mostly cheerful and plot-relevant, and they include the haunting This Day, a ballad performed while boating through subterranean caverns, I think. The soundtrack is well worth a listen.
Personally, I'd welcome an opportunity to see the darn thing again.
Addition: I have acquired a somewhat under the radar DVD of Finders Keepers - dubbed from an off-air VHS taping, I suspect. The songs are, indeed, all very good. The rest of the film, alas, is not. The plot is ludicrous, the script is poor, people behave in all sorts of illogical ways, and even the British comedy stalwarts are ill-treated by what they are given to do (I never thought I would report that John Le Mesurier wasn't very good but, sadly, it is so). And the editing of the climactic musical number is shambolic.
But what has happened to it? The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, and Wonderful Life have all featured regularly on British TV and have had video and DVD releases, yet Finders Keepers has disappeared almost without trace (this is also true of Cliff's subsequent films Take Me High and Two A Penny, but they weren't musicals: Finders Keepers is.
The film's songs are all good. Written by the Shadows, they are mostly cheerful and plot-relevant, and they include the haunting This Day, a ballad performed while boating through subterranean caverns, I think. The soundtrack is well worth a listen.
Personally, I'd welcome an opportunity to see the darn thing again.
Addition: I have acquired a somewhat under the radar DVD of Finders Keepers - dubbed from an off-air VHS taping, I suspect. The songs are, indeed, all very good. The rest of the film, alas, is not. The plot is ludicrous, the script is poor, people behave in all sorts of illogical ways, and even the British comedy stalwarts are ill-treated by what they are given to do (I never thought I would report that John Le Mesurier wasn't very good but, sadly, it is so). And the editing of the climactic musical number is shambolic.
something for the teens
blanche-21 May 2013
I can't bear to give Cliff Richard less than a 6 - I refuse.
"Finders Keepers" from 1966 is another film for Cliff's fans. He and the Shadows, playing themselves, go to a job and find the hotel deserted. An atom bomb has been dropped by mistake into the ocean and until it's found, no tourists, no fishing, no nothing. At the hotel there are spies and agents who want to find the bomb for their own purposes.
You want to talk about a bare bones plot, there it is. Cliff Richard is absolutely adorable. Over here in the States, we were all very busy with Beatlemania and the rest of the British invasion - for some reason, Cliff never caught on over here, though he was certainly popular everywhere else. Just one of those odd things - possibly the press claiming he was the British Elvis is what did it, as we had the original.
Richard is nothing like Elvis, of course. Too clean-cut, boyish, and wholesome, and though he could take on an Elvis style, his actual style was smooth and bright. No one just filmed him from the waist up, broke his records, or talked against him in church pulpits.
Here he and the Shadows perform with lots of energy, though the songs maybe aren't great. And they do stupid antics that the kids probably got a kick out of. It's nowhere near as good as "A Hard Day's Night," and probably this film is best compared to one of Elvis' travelogues - beautiful scenery, some music, a cute guy and pretty women. Richard just tried to be himself in these films, and that was more than enough. I think Presley deserved better films - he was more sexual and more intense. But for Cliff and the Shadows, while not as good as earlier films, this is a pleasant watch.
"Finders Keepers" from 1966 is another film for Cliff's fans. He and the Shadows, playing themselves, go to a job and find the hotel deserted. An atom bomb has been dropped by mistake into the ocean and until it's found, no tourists, no fishing, no nothing. At the hotel there are spies and agents who want to find the bomb for their own purposes.
You want to talk about a bare bones plot, there it is. Cliff Richard is absolutely adorable. Over here in the States, we were all very busy with Beatlemania and the rest of the British invasion - for some reason, Cliff never caught on over here, though he was certainly popular everywhere else. Just one of those odd things - possibly the press claiming he was the British Elvis is what did it, as we had the original.
Richard is nothing like Elvis, of course. Too clean-cut, boyish, and wholesome, and though he could take on an Elvis style, his actual style was smooth and bright. No one just filmed him from the waist up, broke his records, or talked against him in church pulpits.
Here he and the Shadows perform with lots of energy, though the songs maybe aren't great. And they do stupid antics that the kids probably got a kick out of. It's nowhere near as good as "A Hard Day's Night," and probably this film is best compared to one of Elvis' travelogues - beautiful scenery, some music, a cute guy and pretty women. Richard just tried to be himself in these films, and that was more than enough. I think Presley deserved better films - he was more sexual and more intense. But for Cliff and the Shadows, while not as good as earlier films, this is a pleasant watch.
Lovable Britpop fluff
Kitty-66-214 August 2001
Yes, the plot is so thin you could floss your teeth with it. Yes, the pop idols can't act and the songs aren't the best. But if you accept the fact that this is a silly movie from the silliest decade of all, you'll waste an enjoyable 90 minutes on this film. Especially if you're a fan of Cliff Richard, the Shadows, and/or spy spoofs. Come on, who wouldn't want to see the boys gallavanting around a Spanish fiesta disguised (for no good reason) as a roving guitar troupe?
90 Minutes of My Life Gone
cmdahoust10 March 2022
This film was lame and I should have known it would be a drag from the opening scene. The band is on a hay wagon railroad car and the footage and special effects are horrible. None of songs by the band stand out and the plot is weak. Robert Morley is one of those actors who always seems to always find his way into bad films.
Vehicle for the ageing songster
Leofwine_draca6 March 2022
An attempt by Richard to revisit his youth and make a SUMMER HOLIDAY type production despite his advancing years. This doesn't have the carefree feel of his earlier productions and it doesn't help that the songs are distinctly unmemorable too. The plot is a light bit of fluff about the hunt for a missing bomb on a Spanish island but we just get the usual camaraderie in between uninspiring musical numbers.
Strictly for his fans
malcolmgsw21 May 2022
The opening scene is a clue to what will follow. A lame song set against the most abysmal process shot. The film has a threadbare look about it. I am sure the village set was used in Carry On Abroad.
Robert Morley and Peggy Mount are in the cast to give some weight and a siting of a pre Dad's Army John Le Mesurier.
However they cannot save this abomination.
Robert Morley and Peggy Mount are in the cast to give some weight and a siting of a pre Dad's Army John Le Mesurier.
However they cannot save this abomination.
Nice Fluff
william-tobelman9 January 2010
This is the Cliff Richard & the Shadows movie that was made at the time when the Beatles & their ilk were all the rage.
In response, this film has Cliff Richard with his hair combed forward and moves The Shadows to a more prominent role as songwriters, actors, and singers.
The movie is very colorful and beautiful to look at, has the vintage mid sixties madcap feel, mid sixties styling, and is clean cut & wholesome.
Those looking for deep meanings & complicated plot lines had better stick to other movie genres. This is teenybopper stuff.
What's secretly special about this film is The Shadows' vocal contributions which are in league with those on their excellent SHADOW MUSIC album.
In response, this film has Cliff Richard with his hair combed forward and moves The Shadows to a more prominent role as songwriters, actors, and singers.
The movie is very colorful and beautiful to look at, has the vintage mid sixties madcap feel, mid sixties styling, and is clean cut & wholesome.
Those looking for deep meanings & complicated plot lines had better stick to other movie genres. This is teenybopper stuff.
What's secretly special about this film is The Shadows' vocal contributions which are in league with those on their excellent SHADOW MUSIC album.
Beautifully designed and photographed but the plot is limp
willst013 March 2019
It's now available as a "legitimate" DVD and comes up sparkling. The plot's not up to much but the photography and art direction are excellent and there are a few laughs. It doesn't compare with The Dave Clark Five in the earlier Catch Us If You Can, which has better songs and, despite a much lower budget, a real sense of purpose.
The Original 'Broken Arrow'
richardchatten24 May 2022
Last and least of Cliff Richard's trio of travelogues, it's actually of far greater interest as writer Michael Pertwee's second satire on the arms race of the sixties (the first being 'The Mouse on the Moon').
The same subject of a lost nuclear bomb was dealt with again the next year in the far more pretentious but much sillier 'The Day the Fish Came Out'.
The same subject of a lost nuclear bomb was dealt with again the next year in the far more pretentious but much sillier 'The Day the Fish Came Out'.
Songs, spies & Cliff's guys!
ShadeGrenade6 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The British comedy musical 'Finders Keepers' ( 1966 ) saw Cliff Richard & The Shadows back on the big screen after a two-year break ( their last picture being 1964's 'Wonderful Life' ). The plot seems to have been inspired by the then-most recent James Bond picture 'Thunderball'. A British plane on a training mission accidentally drops an atomic bomb - codenamed the 'Mini B Mark 2' - somewhere over the Mediterranean. Agents of competing world powers converge on sunny Spain to find it and thus hold the balance of power. Cliff and the gang arrive by train to do a concert. They find the place strangely deserted. One of the few not to heed the evacuation warnings is the beautiful 'Emilia' ( Viviane Ventura ).
Their hotel is run by cantankerous Colonel Roberts ( Robert Morley ), and staffed by shouty cook 'Mrs.Bragg' ( Peggy Mount ) and incompetent 'Burke' ( Graham Stark ). Roberts shows his guests hospitality because he thinks Hank Marvin is really a fellow spy. Well, this is a comedy after all!
Much singing ( including a song about paella! ) and running about ensues, some comic American soldiers show up ( led by Robert Hutton ), and the film climaxes in jolly fashion at a carnival as our heroes try to stop Roberts from absconding with the bomb. Nice Spanish scenery, gorgeous girls, forgettable songs, a few genuine laughs, and Cliff and his chums having a good time in Technicolour. Amiable '60's fluff. With Melvin Hayes, Una Stubbs and Richard O'Sullivan absent, the Shadows get to shine a bit more though they have to compete with the likes of Morley, Stark and Mount. Its a bit hard though to take the very English Morley as working for the Russians. John Le Mesurier also pops up as a mysterious spy who identifies himself only as 'X'.
The producer, George H.Brown, was responsible for M.G.M.'s delightful 'Miss Marple' series starring Margaret Rutherford. Writer Michael Pertwee had also penned another Mount/Morley picture - 1960's 'Ladies Who Do'.
Things To Listen Out For - Roberts turning on the radio, and tuning into 'The Avengers'. Sidney Hayers, the director, also worked on that show!
With 'A Hard Days Night', one might reasonably have expected Cliff to do something in similar vein, but he did not. 'Finders Keepers' manages to be more endurable than the Fab Four's 'Help!' ( 1965 ), however. Cliff ditched the Shadows - and his goody-goody image - for his next picture - the Billy Graham movie 'Two a Penny' ( 1968 ).
Their hotel is run by cantankerous Colonel Roberts ( Robert Morley ), and staffed by shouty cook 'Mrs.Bragg' ( Peggy Mount ) and incompetent 'Burke' ( Graham Stark ). Roberts shows his guests hospitality because he thinks Hank Marvin is really a fellow spy. Well, this is a comedy after all!
Much singing ( including a song about paella! ) and running about ensues, some comic American soldiers show up ( led by Robert Hutton ), and the film climaxes in jolly fashion at a carnival as our heroes try to stop Roberts from absconding with the bomb. Nice Spanish scenery, gorgeous girls, forgettable songs, a few genuine laughs, and Cliff and his chums having a good time in Technicolour. Amiable '60's fluff. With Melvin Hayes, Una Stubbs and Richard O'Sullivan absent, the Shadows get to shine a bit more though they have to compete with the likes of Morley, Stark and Mount. Its a bit hard though to take the very English Morley as working for the Russians. John Le Mesurier also pops up as a mysterious spy who identifies himself only as 'X'.
The producer, George H.Brown, was responsible for M.G.M.'s delightful 'Miss Marple' series starring Margaret Rutherford. Writer Michael Pertwee had also penned another Mount/Morley picture - 1960's 'Ladies Who Do'.
Things To Listen Out For - Roberts turning on the radio, and tuning into 'The Avengers'. Sidney Hayers, the director, also worked on that show!
With 'A Hard Days Night', one might reasonably have expected Cliff to do something in similar vein, but he did not. 'Finders Keepers' manages to be more endurable than the Fab Four's 'Help!' ( 1965 ), however. Cliff ditched the Shadows - and his goody-goody image - for his next picture - the Billy Graham movie 'Two a Penny' ( 1968 ).
One mostly for Cliff fans only.
plan9920 February 2024
You get what you expect to get with this film, Cliff and The Shadows, and a bevy of beauties for them to hook up with, bursting into song and dance at regular intervals.
Nicely shot in glorious colour although none of the tunes stick in the mind for long after being heard. The musical, or should that be alleged musical, that I reviewed before this was "La La Land" and this film is vastly superior to that mess of a film.
An enjoyable romp with the boys in nice scenery and for this type of film the plot is not too silly. A worthwhile watch from days sadly long gone by, just a bit of innocent fun which has not existed in films for some time now.
Nicely shot in glorious colour although none of the tunes stick in the mind for long after being heard. The musical, or should that be alleged musical, that I reviewed before this was "La La Land" and this film is vastly superior to that mess of a film.
An enjoyable romp with the boys in nice scenery and for this type of film the plot is not too silly. A worthwhile watch from days sadly long gone by, just a bit of innocent fun which has not existed in films for some time now.
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