Joan Newell Movies

A handful of teenage rock and rollers are looking for their big break and they need it fast in this British pop-musical, which offers a look at the U.K. rock music scene in the days before the Beatles took it international. Dave Martin (David Hemmings) and his pals Phil (John Pike), Ron (Heinz Burt), and Ricky (Stephen Marriot) work as delivery boys for the post office during the day, but in their spare time they're members of a beat group called the Smart Alecks who are looking to get ahead. Dave's mother Margaret (Joan Newell) is supportive of Dave's interest in music, but his father Herbert (Ed Deveraux) thinks his son is wasting his time and money, especially after the band blows its savings cutting a demo tape of their best original song, "Live It Up." Herbert gives Dave one month to get his foot in the door of the music business, or else he'll force him to go look for a real job. Dave is sure the tape will score the Smart Alecks a record deal, especially after an accident at a movie studio while he's on a delivery puts his name in the papers, but as fate would have it, Dave misplaces the tape. As the Smart Alecks look for a new way to get the attention of a music biz bigwig, Jill (Jennifer Moss), Dave's girlfriend, thinks she might be able to use her job as a taxi dispatcher to help. Originally released in the United Kingdom as Live It Up, Sing and Swing features a brief appearance by first generation rock icon Gene Vincent, who sings the song "Temptation Baby" in a television studio, while legendarily eccentric producer Joe Meek coordinated the movie's musical score. Future Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore can be spotted sitting in with the group the Outlaws, while Stephen Marriot would soon shorten his first name to Stevie and become a pop star as a member of the Small Faces. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jigsaw was based on Hilary Waugh's play Sleep Long My Love. The scene is Brighton: A woman's body is found in an isolated beach house. The local constabulary painstakingly assemble the "jigsaw" of random clues to reconstruct the woman's history and her last moments on earth, hoping this will lead them to the killer. Though essentially a mystery, the storyline hides nothing from the viewer; the clues are there if you're willing to pick up on them. At 107 minutes, the film is long but never tiresome. With so many films titled Jigsaw floating around the TV schedule, this 1961 production can be characterized as "the good Jigsaw." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though his Hollywood career had petered out, Tom Conway continued to star in British films throughout the 1950s. In Last Man to Hang, Conway heads the cast as Roderick, who at present is on trial for his life. Accused of poisoning his wife, Roderick's fate rests in the hands of the jury, who must decide whether or not the death was accidental. The most damning evidence is provided by Roderick's housekeeper Mrs. Tucker (Freda Jackson), who will do anything to see her ex-employer swinging from a gibbet. The title refers to the British Parliament's mid-1950s efforts to outlaw capital punishment; this legislation would in fact not come about until after the miscarriage of justice dramatized in 1972's Ten Rillington Place. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi