Kenneth Hume Movies
Kenneth Hume was a producer/director, principally from television, who enjoyed a short, strange film career during his 41 years. Born in 1926 in England, Hume entered the film industry as an editor in his early twenties, but later moved into television where he made a name for himself as a maker of arts-related programs. In 1961, the British entertainment world was amazed when Hume -- who was an all-but-avowed homosexual (still a sensitive subject in England, as punitive laws were still on the books) -- married Welsh-born pop singer Shirley Bassey. In 1964, Hume directed and produced a short modern dance film entitled Mods and Rockers, which utilized the songs of John Lennon,Paul McCartney, and George Harrison as performed by a band called the Cheynes (featuring Mick Fleetwood on drums); the short film was later folded into a full-length program alongside a pair of jukebox shorts, Swinging UK and UK Swings Again, retitled Go Go Big Beat for U.S. release. What might have been a clever use of Beatles music turned into a financial and legal disaster -- Mods and Rockers had a fairly explicit homoerotic content that made it an impossible sell in England or America, and it also had a racial content that made it even more difficult to present in the United States. Worse still, the Beatles sued over the movie's marketing and publicity, which featured their name distinctly larger than that of the Cheynes and such matters as synchronization rights to the songs. The movie was later withdrawn and Mods and Rockers was removed from the larger composite feature, and modern showings of Swinging UK or Go Go Big Beat contain only the two jukebox shorts. Hume made one more movie, I've Gotta Horse (1965). Hume's personal and professional life alike took a dive when Bassey decided to divorce him -- they apparently were married and divorced twice within a three-year period, and Hume was found dead, an apparent suicide by drug overdose, after their second parting. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1965
In this comedy, an irresponsible pop singer avoids rehearsing for his gig for a summer show by the sea in favor of playing with his dogs. He then purchases a racehorse and goes off to watch it race. The show's opening night totally slips his mind until the very last minute. He gets back in the nick of time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Fury, Amanda Barrie, (more)
- 1965
Although sold as a feature film, Go Go Big Beat was actually comprised of three short features: Swinging UK, UK Swings Again, and Mods and Rockers. The first two were 26-minute jukebox shorts, both directed by Frank Gilpin and consisted of mimed clips of then-current (and a few very obscure) British acts lip-syncing to their then-current singles -- these included the Hollies, Brian Poole & the Tremeloes, the Merseybeats, the Animals, Millie Small, the Migil Five, the Honeycombs, the Applejacks, the Four Pennies, the Wackers, the Tornados, and the Swinging Blue Jeans. Introducing the various acts were then-popular British DJs Alan Freeman, Brian Matthew, and Kent Walton. If the third film had been similarly structured, the resulting movie might have turned a modest profit and left some fond memories behind, but the third section of the original movie was a short entitled Mods and Rockers, directed and produced by Kenneth Hume, presenting a modern dance piece of the same name. The problem was that Mods and Rockers as a dance work and setting was decidedly homoerotic in nature -- which was a big problem in 1964 -- and it was scored to the songs of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, as recorded here by a band called the Cheynes, which included Mick Fleetwood on drums. The proper clearances for the songs and their use in a film as accompaniment may well have been overlooked; that was the view at the time, as threats of court action quickly followed the premiere. In any case, lawsuits followed over the marketing of the movie (the Beatles' name was larger than that of the Cheynes) and the use of the songs, and Go Go Big Beat disappeared soon after its release. It resurfaced, first on videotape from Rhino in the early '80s and later, in a much better mastered (if somewhat sloppily assembled) version, on DVD in 2004. In both instances, it was shorn of Hume's Mods and Rockers, containing only the two performance clip films directed by Frank Gilpin. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Millie Small, The Animals, (more)
- 1957
In this adventure, an American is forced by smugglers to sail his boat from Barcelona to Tangiers. The ruthless fugitives then kill his son, and harm his shipmate, sending the pilot, himself an ex-smuggler into such a rage that he kills two gang members and helps police capture the survivors and bring them to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
In this drama, a man journeys to the posh British estate of a friend for a weekend soiree. There he learns that the real purpose of the party is to provide the host the opportunity to steal the jewels of his guests. To thwart the plan, the man and the host's adopted step-daughter team up. Unfortunately she winds up getting locked in the room where the jewels were begin stored. The host is attempting to beat a hasty retreat with the jewels but is stopped by an enterprising butler who throws a switch as his boss is attempting to scale the estate fence. The hapless thief is promptly electrocuted. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Cheer the Brave is a minor British domestic comedy, good for a few laughs during its scant 62 minutes. Elsie Randolph plays the domineering wife of downtrodden Geoffrey Keen. As if wifey isn't enough of a terror, Keen has to contend with mother-in-law Marie Ault. Keen finally gets the gumption to skeedaddle when Randolph's first husband Jack McNaughton make a return appearance. Cheer the Brave was the first directorial effort of former editor Kenneth Hume, who also wrote and produced it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Those unfamiliar with the Welsh dialect may want to bring an interpreter to Blue Scar. Emrys Jones plays a Welsh mining engineer who longs for the bright lights of London. Jones finally gets his chance to visit the British metropolis, only to find that village life is infinitely more preferable. Of interest is the fact that Blue Scar was written and directed by a woman, documentary filmmaker Jill Craigie. As was her custom, Craigie peoples the cast of the film with talented nonprofessionals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emrys Jones, Gwyneth Vaughan, (more)
- 1947
In this comedy drama, a taxi driver finds an abandoned greyhound puppy and takes it home to his daughter who raises it and trains it to race. While at the track, a corrupt dog owner sees the dog as a threat to his champion and tries to buy it from her. She refuses, and so he tries to frame the taxi-driver on fake drunk-driving charges. Fortunately, the dog wins the Big Race and the cabby's good name is eventually cleared. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew Blackett, Jeanne de Casalis, (more)
