Expresso Bongo

Amazon.com

Laurence Harvey is a brash hustler with a stream of snappy patter who takes bongo-playing crooner Cliff Richard out of the coffeehouse and into the big time in this sardonic spoof of the cynical star-making industry. Set amid the sleazy strip clubs and bustling nightlife of London's Soho district, Expresso Bongo is a fab bit of show-biz lampooning that loses its bite and its momentum when it leaves the lively streets for the claustrophobic offices and penthouse suites of the professional music industry sharks. It's still a marvelous time capsule of Britain's pre-rock pop-music scene, and the cast is terrific. Fast-talking Harvey is a dynamo as the small-time opportunist, with Sylvia Sims as his worldly stripper girlfriend growing weary of his schemes and Yolande Donlan as the savvy but aging American sex symbol plotting her comeback on the back of Harvey's naive new star. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Botched.......2004-12-29

Make no mistake, I love EXPRESSO BONGO, and the film itself would normally merit five stars; for style and sensibility, it was ahead of the curve for 1959. Watching this version of it, however, gives the false impression that this is just another teen idol film, due primarily to the several excised musical interludes. Of course, my own discovery of the missing Harvey numbers was upsetting, but by far the biggest letdown was the absence of Meier Tzelniker's peculiar performance of a charming number called "Nausea," the strangest moment in the film and biggest disappointment of this edition. Kino is generally one of the few labels I would buy from sight unseen, but this gives me cause for concern...

Temple's template?.......2004-02-14

This look at the British rock'n'roll scene, circa 1959, HAD to have inspired Julien Temple's "Absolute Beginners", right from its opening nightime shots swooping through London's Soho coffee bar/club scene to its depiction of naive show biz beginners with stars in thier eyes and savvy talent agents' hands in thier wallets. The late great Laurence Harvey portrays the classic success-hungry hustler/"manager" stereotype with the kind of cheeky chutzpah that remained unmatched until Ray Sharkey's astounding performance in 1980's "The Idolmaker". The elfin Cliff Richard plays it straight as Harvey's "discovery", the hilariously named 'Bongo' Herbert. Great footage of the original "Shadows" group, including guitar whiz Hank Marvin (whom Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page have cited as a seminal influence). The smart, bitchy dialog is better written than most U.S. "youth" films of the era ("The Girl Can't Help It" and "Rock Rock Rock" may contain priceless performance footage, but tend to sport somewhat sophmoric scripts). DVD notes: The Kino release has the best picture I've ever seen of the film, but the oversaturated sound makes much of the dialog unintelligable and some of the "brassier" songs unlistenable. A real hoot for music geeks.

Sharp Showbiz Satire........2003-06-01

WOW ! Talk about mixed reviews ! I gather from some of the reviewers that certain parts of the original film--apparently Laurence Harvey had some songs--are missing in this version.
Sorry--I find it difficult to miss what I have never seen in the first place. As long as the Cliff Richard numbers are included, I suspect most people will be satisfied.

This is a highly entertaining film, and while Laurence's singing may be "missing in action", his acting as the ultimate hustling, unethical, desperate showbiz manager is terrific. Whether it's 1959, when the film was made, or 2003, one suspects that success in the world of pop music does dictate that "nice guys will finish last". Harvey's character is certainly not a "nice guy", but his brash, "silver-tongued" persona becomes, thanks to a great actor, sympathetic to the viewer. As his long-suffering girlfriend, Maisie the Stripper, Sylvia Syms matches Harvey's performance as the only type of woman who would stick with this manic guy for more than five minutes !

An incredibly young Cliff Richard is "Bongo" Herbert, Harvey's big "discovery". This was not Cliff's first film, but it was his first major role, and he was well-cast as a naive young singer who just performs "for kicks", until he learns the ways of a ruthless world. One more point for music fans--you will also see Cliff Richard's legendary backing group, the Shadows, in the coffee bar scene, before they became big stars in their own right.

The film captures the atmosphere of London's more sleazy areas, circa 1959, as well as the excitement created by a new force in music--rock n' roll. Of course, if there is one ingredient that lifts this movie over many others of the same type, it is the script--this one really crackles !

The picture is widescreen, black and white and the quality is good, rather than great--sound, of course, is mono.

Overall, a classic satire on the music business and the exploitation of artists. Recommended.

Expresso Bong.....Oh.......2002-03-13

An on target black and white satire of the 1950's pop music scene with only one problem. The music isn't all there. As I remember it , there was at least one other song in the original cinema release and it's omission removes some of the bite from the whole. Overall, a bit of a let-down considering that there wasn't much music to start with, although Cliff Richard does get a reasonable look-in. (Can you believe that he was really nineteen at the time ? He only looks about fourteen here.)Anyway, it is still worth having a look at but I imagine that those expecting to see the same film that they saw all those years ago are going to feel disappointed.

The Same Shoddy Piece of Goods.......2001-12-22

Forget about stars. Kino's DVD of "Expresso Bongo" is the same mangled version that appeared on VHS a couple of years ago. Three
songs performed by Laurence Harvey are missing. I e-mailed Kino about this abridgement at the time. Mr. Gonzalez is quite correct in calling Kino's cut a "Reader's Digest" version of the film.I was hoping Harvey's numbers would be restored for the DVD version but I see I will have to make do with my murky off-the-air video recording.

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