GONKS GO BEAT

released 27 May 1965 | U | blu-ray/dvd

Director robert Hartford-davis Cast Kenneth Connor, Terry scott, Frank Thornton, arthur Mullard

The title sounds like pure ’60s whimsy – so right for a kitsch curio once damned as “the worst British film ever made” – but that’s actually a laser-sighted marketing exercise in just three words.

Directed by cash-in king Robert Hartford-Davis, Gonks Go Beat chases two fads with equal cynicism: the gormless ragdoll toys that swept the world long before Furbies and Beanie Babies, and the kind of finger-snapping, bikini-shaking pop musical that kept Cliff Richard on the big screen. Sounds like a deeply unlikely mix, doesn’t it? Hold on, let’s pour some low-budget science fiction over that…

Carry On manchild Kenneth Connor is bumbling galactic troubleshooter Wilco Roger, assigned to bring peace to planet Earth. In this strange future the world is split between rival islands: Beatland, home to guitar-toting hep-cats – “If you’re with it you’re in!” – and Balladisle, where chaste teens swoon among plastic palms to syrupy pop picks. The Romeo and Juliet tale that unfolds is the thinnest of connective tissue for musical numbers that showcase hit parade stars and also-rans alike. Crate-digging everyone from Lulu to Ray Lewis and the Trekkers, this awful but endearing shambles makes a fascinating jukebox, at least.

Extras Trailer, image gallery, and a PDF of the original press book.