The Music Machine 1979
director: Ian Sharp
Genre
Country
Great Britain
Cast
Gerry Sundquist Patti Boulaye David Easter Michael Feast Ferdy Mayne Clarke Peters Richard Parmentier Billy McColl Chrissy Wickham Frances Lowe Johnny Wade Mandy Perryment Garry Shail Brenda Fricker Thomas Baptiste John Gorman Cathy Lewis John Fowler Ian Lindsay Tony Pierce John Blundell Mark Wingett Sebastian Smedley-Aston Esther Rantzen
Formats
Average User Rating: 0 Vote(s)
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 Not Available | Purchase this movie on DVD! |  Not Available |
| Distributor | Alpha (Intervision) |
| Catalogue Number | A-A0361 |
| Release Series | |
| Release Date | July 1981 |
| Duration: | 86m 32s |
| Printed Classification | |
| Notes | Released first as a complete carton and later as a wrap-around sleeve |
User Reviews:
In 1977, a low-budget film called [i]Saturday Night Fever[/i] had taken the world by storm and relaunched the Bee Gees as the reigning kings of the disco movement, so it was only a matter of time before someone, somewhere decided to cobble together a cheapskate cash-in knock-off - and by jingo, it turned out to be not only rubbish, but British rubbish! Step forward Brian Smedley Aston ([i]Vampyres[/i]) and James Kenelm Clarke ([i]Expose[/i]), who hired ace cinematographer Phil Meheux ([i]the Long Good Friday, Scum[/i]) to shoot the thing (sadly, he didn't shoot it dead) and future [i]Who Dares Wins[/i] helmsman Ian Sharp to direct. The end result, [i]the Music Machine[/i], sank virtually without trace and I wouldn't have heard of it myself if I hadn't been watching a television documentary called [i]the Day Britain Turned Disco[/i] and saw [i]Coronation Street[/i]'s Denise Welch boasting that her then-boyfriend, Gerry Sundquist ([i]Don't Open Till Christmas[/i]) played 'the John Travolta role'. Although I'm not one to speak ill of the dead - Sundquist committed suicide in 1993, jumping in front of a train - it must be pointed out that he was an odd choice to play the role, since he clearly can't dance and the frequent use of a double for the disco hoofing scenes is crashingly obvious. As for the rest of the cast, television buffs will have a field day spotting the likes of Brenda Fricker ([i]Casualty[/i]), John Gorman ([i]Tiswas[/i]), Mark Wingett ([i]the Bill[/i]), Gary Shail ([i]Metal Mickey[/i]) and other familiar faces, whilst Esther Rantzen pops up playing herself and Patti Boulaye provides the 'star power'. [i]The Music Machine[/i] couldn't be any more end of the pier if it came complete with a fishing rod and a Kiss Me Quick hat, and fans of British kitsch should definitely give it a look.