David Essex takes the viewer on a trip around picturesque Isle of Wight locations, including Shanklin beach, Sandown High School, the bridge over the river round the back of Sandown Waterworks, Pontins Little Canada Holiday Camp. Shanklin Theatre, and outside the Rex at Ventnor which isn't there any more.Big excitement down here on the Isle of Wight back in 1970 when this was going on, actually. I'd recently left school, but my Dad still taught there and it was his classroom which was used as the location (later to become the music room, where my daughter did her music A level). I helped at lunchtime at Shanklin Liberal Club, where the cast and crew were fed and watered at lunchtime during the Shanklin Theatre filming (no-one famous, though!). And assorted school friends pop up as extras - hi there, Sudsy and Hoof! So the local connection means I always regard this movie with fondness, but I also like it for two other reasons. One it is an atmospheric evocation of an era important to me personally and, two, it showed Ringo that there was life after The Beatles.

Coming of age with the aid of the essence of rock 'n' roll. Jim MacLaine(David Essex)is a working class British teen going through the pressures of school, home and parental expectations much like his American counterparts. The latest tunes from a jukebox, your own record player or live from a bandstand brings solace and often eases the angst. Jim pals around with his friend Mike(Ringo Starr)and goes from a shy lad to a man-of-the-world in the ways of women. He finally gives up being the gadabout and goes make home to help his mom(Rosemary Leach)run the family store. He even finally settles down to marry and have a child. All the while, rock 'n' roll fills his mind as he fancies writing songs and idolizing rock stars like Elvis and local singer Stormy Tempest(Billy Fury)and his band. Faded memories of his own dad causes Jim to leave family and home...and a stop at a music shop to purchase a guitar. The soundtrack is full of Stateside rock tunes and well as music by Billy Fury, Eugene Wallace and Wishful Thinking. Also in the cast: Rosalind Ayers, Keith Moon, Robert Lindsay, Deborah Watling and Brenda Bruce. Being an American growing up in this time period doesn't stop me from digging this flick.

Probably the best portrayal of the '50s rebel culture has working-class Brit Jim MacLaine (David Essex) with a chip on his shoulder - due to his father abandoning the family - and doesn't care about school; he's into rock 'n' roll. His friend Mike (Ringo Starr) is no more responsible but gets Jim some jobs. But after everything, Jim sees fit only - and I mean ONLY - to play music.Aside from the fact that this was a really good movie, I should identify that there was a sequel called "Stardust". I've never seen that one, as it's never been released on DVD. WHY NOT?! Considering how good this one was, why can't the latter get released on DVD?!

David Essex takes on the lead role of Jimmy McLaine, a young man living in working class Britain during the late 1950s, when American rock 'n' roll was King of England. Growing up with a good deal of angst after his dad walked out on the family when Jimmy was still only a boy, McLaine finds himself fed up with school and the more conventional way of life and decides to abandon his struggling mother, striking out on his own. Settling for odd jobs here and there, Jim finds a sidekick in the humorous and more experienced Mike (played by ex-Beatle Ringo Starr) and the pair of delinquents engage in petty crime in between bedding down as many local ladies as they can get their hands on. When Jimmy begins to have a change of heart he returns home to mom and settles down, only to find that he must make the ultimate decision on whether to confront his responsibilities or indulge his passion for being a rock and roll star.David Essex is good as Jim, and Ringo Starr gives maybe the finest performance of his occasional acting career as Mike, who becomes Jimmy's mentor and room mate. It's amazing how well the 33-year-old former Beatle pulls off the role of a young kid, and the same may be said for an over-aged Essex. The film perfectly captures the climate of England in the late 1950s and benefits from a huge array of classic American oldies on the music soundtrack, from artists like Ritchie Valens, Del Shannon, The Big Bopper, Bobby Darin and others.After I saw this I read that it's been said that this story was patterned after a young John Lennon, and while I can agree (with the benefit of hindsight) that there are some similarities between John's life and the Essex character here, even as a die-hard Beatles fan I didn't pick up on this during my actual viewing of the film. It is loosely based on Lennon at best (John's dad also left him, he loved rock music, and he had a wreckless nature as a youth). *** out of ****