This film is currently unavailable
Cool for Cats
The only known existent edition of this long-running 1950s ITV pop show features songs by Tommy Steele, Paul Anka and Connie Francis.
Director: Brian Taylor
Overview
Possibly aimed at older viewers, Cool for Cats seems rather more laid back than other pop shows of the era. Certainly one suspects that presenter Kent Walton preferred what he calls 'true jazz' to 'gimmicky songs and pops'. All the same, this fascinating musical time capsule is full of delights, including a studio performance from Mike Preston and dance routines choreographed by Dougie Squires.
Kent Walton (in his forties when this edition was filmed) doesn't seem much inclined towards teenage tastes in music, and describes Tommy Steele's novelty number 'I Puts the Lightie On', played here with cartoons as visual accompaniment, as 'nonsense'. As this song was the flipside of Steele's Top 20 hit 'The Only Man on the Island', it's a puzzle why the stronger A-side, which might just have held more appeal for Kent, wasn't played instead. Despite its title, Cool for Cats probably wasn't the coolest pop show on television, but it was certainly a long-running one - it was broadcast from 1956 until 1961.
Related
Chi-Raq Chi-Raq
Musical 2015 127 mins Director: Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s bold and vivacious hip-hop musical restages an ancient Greek battle-of-the-sexes in 21st-century Chicago.
David Brent: Life on the Road David Brent: Life on the Road
Comedy 2016 96 mins Director: Ricky Gervais
The long-awaited big-screen outing for Slough’s premier paper salesman finds Ricky Gervais’ genius comic creation cashing in his pension for one last shot at rock ‘n’ roll success.
Lambert & Stamp Lambert & Stamp
Documentary 2014 118 mins Director: James D. Cooper
The fascinating story of how two aspiring filmmakers set out to capture swinging 1960s London, but instead inadvertently helped create The Who.
Supersonic Supersonic
Documentary 2016 117 mins Director: Mat Whitecross
Relive the stratospheric rise of the kings of Britpop in this rousing nostalgic trip from the producers of Amy.
Sing Street Sing Street
Drama 2016 106 mins Director: John Carney
The third in John Carney’s trilogy of musical films is the utterly charming story a boy who escapes his troubles through fronting a pop band.
Midnight Breaks Midnight Breaks
1988 113 mins Director: Laurens C. Postma
Big Audio Dynamite’s Don Letts made his acting debut in this gripping, gritty 1990 drama of dreads, drugs, and music business corruption.
Small Town Story Small Town Story
Gangster 1953 68 mins Director: Montgomery Tully
Can Bob Regan thwart a devious businessman and a manipulative ex-girlfriend to save Oldchester United? Maybe, with the help of friend Denis Compton!
No Other Land No Other Land
Documentary 2024 92 mins Director: Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.