If You Knew Peggy Su!

For most westerners, a film in English and Mandarin, about a Chinese girl looking for the love of her life while working in a Chinese laundry in 1960's Liverpool might not be everyone's cup of Chai. However, Frances -Anne Soloman's delightful 1997 romantic comedy Peggy Su! has more charm than any syrupy Richard Curtis fantasy.

Written by Anglo-Chinese playwright Kevin Wong, Peggy Su! tells the story of 19-year-old Peggy (Pam Oei) who arrives from Hong Kong to work in the Chinese laundry run by her brother Jack. Despite having a husband chosen for her by her father (Burt Kwouk), Peggy is determined to marry for love and sets out on a race against time to find her ideal man.

Much of the film concerns Peggy's attempts to find a husband out of her daunting three choices. There's her father's choice, the socially and physically inept cousin Gilbert (Adrian Pang); smoothie Anglicised Chinese restaurateur David (Glen Goei); plus delivery man Terry (Vince Pellegrino), the outsider.

Suki Smith currently making waves in the music industry in her musical guise of Madam plays Rita, Peggy Su's sister in law.

Peggy Su! was the first feature film to receive National Lottery funding with the balance made up by the BBC. Peter Spencer's soundtrack spans a sort of jazzy latin pop with a oriental feel mixed with girly 60's pop. Standout tracks include Peggy Su's Blues and the heart warming Ain't That Funny? Like the movie it's an exotic mix with a magical and happy ending. Joi Geen everyone!

When Walt went South of The Border

During WW2, the US Department of State commissioned Walt Disney to make a movie that would appeal to Central and South American audiences. Evidently there were concerns that governments like Argentina who had close ties with Nazi Germany could possibly sway the outcome of the war in favour of the Axis powers. Disney's solution was Saludos Amigos, (Hello Friends), the first of two feature length latin excursions by the studio.

Released in 1942 by RKO Radio Pictures, Saludos Amigos is set in Latin America and split into four segements comprising a live action travelogue, Goofy the Gaucho and two Donald Duck segments. The second Donald Duck short introduces a new character, José Carioca a Brazillian parrot played by José Oliviera. It features the breathtaking Acquarello do Brasil samba sequence which links Amy Barroso's classic Brazil and the popular Tico-Tico in a stunning tableau of colourful and imaginative animation. Although Saludos Amigos picked up mixed reviews, it was popular and profitable enough for Disney to produce another Latin flavoured short feature, The Three Caballeros.

Released in 1944, The Three Caballeros reunites Donald Duck with José Carioca and adds another latino character, a Mexican rooster called Panchito Pistoles to make up the the titular three caballeros. Like its predecessor, The Three Caballeros is an omnibus feature, but it is a quantum leap from Saludos Amigos, with more songs and some eye-popping sequences including Os Quindines de Ya Ya sung by Carmen Miranda's sister Aurora against an animated background of dancing houses and other assorted Latin phantasmagoria.

Both Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros feature some great latin music and are essential listening. The performances in the movie are especially stunning. Recordings extracted from 78's released at the time but not featuring the artists in the movie are available here The Three Caballeros (week 34) and Saludos Amigos!. (week 18).

Originally created as goodwill messages to Latin America and allegedly a means to allow Walt Disney to temporarily escape the turmoil at his studio created by industrial action and the partial take-over by the US Army, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros have perhaps been overshadowed by other Disney masterpieces. Today they can be viewed more objectively and seen as notable examples of animators being allowed to experiment and let their creativity run riot with dazzling results.

Gulliver's Travels - a giant of a picture

Released in 1939, Gulliver's Travels was the Fleischer Studio's first animated feature. Originally concieved as a Popeye short, Fleischer's distributors, Paramount Pictures wanted a feature length cartoon like Disney's Snow White. So Popeye got cast overboard and Gulliver's Travels set sail as a 79 minute technicolor cel animated masterpiece.

Loosely based on Jonathan Swift's 18th Century novel, the film follows Gulliver's Liliputian adventures where the kingdoms of Blefiscu and Lilliput argue over which song to play at the wedding of Prince David of Blefiscu and Princess Glory of Lilliput instead of fighting over which end of a boiled egg to break first.

Although much of the animation is easily the equal of Disney's output at the time, Gulliver's Travels differs from the 'house of mouse' with its extensive use of rotoscoping especially for Gulliver himself. Much of the Fleischer studio's trademark ingenuity and imagination (as seen in many Betty Boop shorts) is evident throughout the movie particulary in the scenes of the capture of Gulliver and his later duding up by the Lilliputians.

Gulliver is big, noble and wise, but the Prince and Princess are a bit bland and don't do much apart from be lovey-dovey and sing. The humour in the movie is provided by King Bombo and King Little; Bombo's spies Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch; and Gabby, Lilliput's town crier, voiced by Pinto Colvig, the voice of Disney's Goofy. Although a hit at the time, Gabby (who spawned a number of follow up shorts), seems to be a composite of all Disney's Seven Dwarfs and as such is a bit abrasive (as in annoying) by today's standards.

Like Snow White, Gulliver's Travels, features some charming songs including the feel good, It's A Hap-Hap-Happy Day, Gulliver's lump in the throat Sailor Man song and the romantic Faithful Forever. Victor Young is credited with 'atmospheric music' and adds an epic and lush sheen to the proceedings. Although cover versions of the songs in the film have been released over the years, no official soundtrack exists. William T Stromberg recently recreated several key cues from the film on a collection of Victor Young's film music. With no official score on the horizon, it has been left to fans to search for old 78's of the tunes or create their own unofficial soundtrack cobbled together from available music and musical extracts from the DVD of the movie.

Although Gulliver's Travels was a box-office success, history seems to compare this magical movie unfavourably against Snow White which is unjustified. Gulliver's Travels was sold off following the collapse of the Fleischer Studios due to financial problems. It is now in the public domain and readily available on DVD and viewable on numerous websites. Alas some awful transfers of the movie have tarnished its original glory. There are however some decent versions of the film available now, in fact Amazon is currently promoting a 'special edition', though information about it is sketchy. Potential purchasers should always buy from a reputable retailer like Amazon and read the reviews to ensure they see Gulliver in the way it was meant to be seen.

Gordon Beck - British Jazz Legend

Back in the mists of 1968, my jazz mad elder brother brought home an LP called Dr Dolittle Loves Jazz by Gordon Beck. Having recently seen the Rex Harrison movie, Dr Dolittle, I was intrigued to hear how Beck could transform Leslie Bricusse's jolly show tunes into frenetic Bill Evans style jazz.

London born self taught jazz pianist Gordon Beck was a member of the legendary Tubby Hayes Quintet in 1962. In the late 60's Beck formed his own trio, Gordon Beck + Two who became the house band at Ronnie Scott's Club.

In between contributing to several movie soundtracks and working with composers such as Lalo Schifrin, Benny Golson, and Gary McFarland, Beck recorded three albums for the Major Minor Records label Dr. Dolittle Loves Jazz, Half a Jazz Sixpence and Experiments with Pops - the latter featured John McLaughlin on guitar, which adds another dimension to Beck's distinctive style.

Each album displays Gordon Beck's virtuosity and flair along with his fluid and sometimes explosive piano style. If you are a fan of late 60's British modern jazz and want to hear a jazz 'joanna' legend, then slick your hair, slip on the shark skin suit and shades and give these albums some room in your world.

TV Thrillers

Johnny Gregory's TV Thriller Themes is one of those fabulously fortuitous finds. It's a classy collection of US and UK Crime Jazz from the mid -1960's

Featuring a bold and brassy big band sound that belies its British origins, TV Thriller Themes, includes such US Crime Jazz staples as Route 66, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason and Johnny Staccato plus less familiar gems like M Squad and Tightrope, alongside forgotten Brit crime themes like Top Secret, Echo Four Two and Ghost Squad. Of special interest is the inclusion of the original Avengers theme.

The man behind TV Thriller Themes, Johnny Gregory, was the son of band leader Frank Gregori, whose band was a regular fixture at Quaglino's restaurant in London during the 1930s and 1940s. Johnny Gregory became a prolific record arranger with Philips and the BBC Radio Orchestra’s principal guest conductor. An Ivor Novello Award winner Gregory wrote the music for some 27 films, and accompanied singers including Matt Munro, Anthony Newley, Connie Francis and Cleo Laine.

TV Thriller Themes is another great addition to my current fave Crime Jazz collections Jazz From Great TV Shows and Like Wild!.

Welcome to the Cotton Club

Inspired by Jim Haskins' pictorial history of the notorious Harlem nightspot, Francis Ford Coppola's Cotton Club from 1984 looked like a sure fire hit. A top director, a screenplay by Mario 'Godfather' Puzo, a cast including Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins and Gregory Hines and a soundtrack by John Barry - how could it fail? Alas the mysterious death of a financier dogged the production and the mobsters and music format left punters confused resulting in an expensive flop which all but destroyed producer Robert Evans' career and did nothing for American Zoetrope's fortunes.

Clunker or Classic? Opinion is divided about The Cotton Club. Personally I love it once you get used its slightly schizophrenic mix of stunning onstage dance numbers blurring into the sometimes visceral action off stage which blazed a trail for productions like Chicago.

At over two hours, it's a long but nevertheless glossy and stylish production with some fine performances though Richard Gere and Diane Lane are a bit wooden and lifeless. Horsefaced Nic Cage is whiny and annoying and James Remar is a scenery chewing villain, but the double act of Bob Hoskins and Fred Gywnne is inspired while Gregory and Maurice Hines dazzle on the dancefloor. Laurence Fishburn turns up as a young mobster, Tom Waits plays it straight as the Cotton Club's MC while ex Warhol star Joe Dallesandro of Lou Reed's Walk on The Wild Side fame ("Little Joe never once gave it away") simmers as Lucky Luciano.

The Cotton Club soundtrack is a good accompaniment to the movie and features thirteen stunning recreations of jazz classics of the era by Bob Wilber though sadly only two examples of John Barry's evocative and deeply romantic score are included. There are some excellent performances though including Lonnette McKee's heart breaking Ill Wind, Sandman Williams' solo spot interspersed with the death of Dutch Shultz and the instrumental The Mooche which opens the movie with its dazzling dance sequence by the Cotton Club lovelies.

The CD release is a straight lift from the vinyl released at the time of movie and therefore reflects the limitations of an LP in terms of time, consequently many fine performances get lost. Notwithstanding most of John Barry's score, other casualties include Larry Marshall's enthusiastic version of Cab Calloway's Jitterbug and The Lady With The Fan; Sydney Goldsmith's bawdy rendition of Lucille Brogan's Barbecue Bess; Diane Lane and Richard Gere's charming Am I Blue? and Gregory and Maurice Hines supercharged and emotional performance of Crazy Rhythm - there's lots more missing. I suppose that because the movie tanked at the box office, no-one at Geffen Records is going to bother to expand the score which is a shame for Jazzoholics like me.

Moans aside, what you do get is great. John Barry shines and Bob Wilber should be applauded for his attention to detail in creating the spirit and feel of the great dance music of the 20's and 30's without the pops and crackles of course.

J'aime beaucoup - A Bachelor in Paris

With the radiant Marion Cotillard picking up BAFTA's, Golden Globes and Oscar nominations for La Vie En Rose, we honour her artistry with A Bachelor in Paris. C'est un grand easy cheesy compilation where lounge legends like Les Baxter rub les epaules avec Nelson Riddle, Elmer Bernstein et Billy May.

This wonderfully eccentric compilation represents the naughty Paris of Gigi, Pepe Le Pew, Gay Puree, Le Moulin Rouge and The Aristocats. There's even a "ver zexi Mamzelle" linking each track with a commentary about "Parees en lerv" It has little to do with current movies per-se though Sam Butera's bouncy good time version of La Via En Rose was used for the Ratatouille teaser trailer.

So, mes petits choux a la cremes A Bachelor in Paris is a great fun cocktail compilation that would even have Edif Piaf cracking a smile. Cheer up Love ..worst things have happened at sea.