"Doctor Doolittle".



Tommy Steele was Britain's first Rock 'n' Roll star. (Sorry Cliff, but he was. You had your first hit record in 1958. Tommy had his in 1956.) Tommy wasn't a very good Rock 'n' Roll star. Most of Tommy's early records were kind of awful. Weak tea Rock 'n' Roll for British teenagers starved of exposure to the real thing. Tommy was much better suited to family entertainment, and really came into his own with the musical comedies he progressed to in the 1960's. "Half A Sixpence", "The Happiest Millionaire" and "Finian's Rainbow". In the 1970's he shifted again, this time into family stage musicals. Generally this is where he has remained.

In 1974/1975 my good lady, Jennifer, went with her Mom to see saw Tommy Steele in "Hans Christian Anderson" at the London Palladium. She remembered that show with fondness. (Maybe it is something to do with being a kid living in Britain during a certain stage of the 1970's. I remember all of the stars of the panto's I saw when I was a little kid. Arthur Askey, Dickie Henderson, Les Dawson, Richard O'Sullivan, Tessa Wyatt, Danny La Rue. Anybody remember any of that bunch?) Jennifer said that Tommy was a cyclone of energy. Singing, dancing and laughing. A wonderful performance. When I mentioned that he was appearing in "Doctor Doolittle" at the Birmingham Hippodrome, it became a must-see ticket for her. I was cajoled into attending with her. I expected nothing.

I got a bit more than nothing. In fact, I thought "Doctor Doolittle" was really good. It suprised me. Really it did. Family musicals are hardly my thing at all.

I must have seen the Rex Harrison movie, but I certainly don't remember seeing it. But I knew the songs. I knew the story and I knew the animals. The cast were enthusiastic. The show was colourful, exuberant and energetic. God forgive me for the words I am about to use, but it was a real treat for kids of all ages. I even bought a programme.

Tommy Steele is 71 years old. The makeup he was wearing was thick, and he seemed at points to be a little frail, but the voice was intact, and he danced nearly as well as anybody else on that stage. Good for him. What are old troupers supposed to do? Give up and die? No. Go like Tommy Cooper. That's what I say.

I doubt I will convince anybody to go and see "Doctor Doolittle". You either like this kind of thing or you don't. But if you are wavering, give it a go and remember to take a little kid with you. The pleasure will be maximised. I looked over at Jennifer during the show, and she was in raptures.

I was glad to make her happy for a change.

"Outpost".



A scientist, bankrolled by a mysterious organisation, hires a motley group of mercenaries to get him safely into a long forgotten bunker in Eastern Europe, abandoned at the end of World War II. There he find evidence of a secret experiment and something that should have died long ago...

(Makes spooky noises.)

Sounds good. Yes? OK, maybe not, but I have always thought that the success of a generic 'group of people facing unbelievable horror in a remote location' movie is mainly dependant on the execution of the premise rather than the originality of the premise. Neil Marshall's "Dog Soldiers" is an example of a brilliant soldiers vs. the supernatural movie. Such a shame that "Outpost" didn't try to rip off "Dog Soldiers" for enthusiasm, humour and, doggone it!, profane Britishness.

Because, sadly, "Outpost" is just a little bit dreary, dull, depressing and unexciting. It makes me really unhappy to write that, because I have read all about Arabella Page Croft's and Kieran Parker's struggle to get "Outpost" made. How they were rejected by Hollywood and had to finally remortgage their house to raise the funds to make "Outpost". I wanted "Outpost" to be a brilliant slice of low budget, energetic and inventive gore. It wasn't.

Oh, well. Maybe the next film will be better? I hope so. I am glad that this film got a theatrical realease and that my 3 quid and 25 pence went towards a British production. Please don't waste that investment next time, guys!