The Music Machine (film)
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additional dialogue
Alan Drury
Roger Headey
Terry Wilton
executive
James Kenelm Clarke
Patti Boulaye
| The Music Machine | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Directed by | Ian Sharp |
| Written by | James Kenelm Clarke additional dialogue Alan Drury Roger Headey Terry Wilton |
| Produced by | Brian Smedley-Aston executive James Kenelm Clarke |
| Starring | Gerry Sundquist Patti Boulaye |
| Cinematography | Phil Méheux |
| Distributed by | Target International |
Release date |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $500,000[1] or £125,000[2] |
The Music Machine is a 1979 British musical drama film directed by Ian Sharp and starring Gerry Sundquist, Patti Boulaye and David Easter.[3][4] It was written by James Kenelm Clarke.
It was called the first all-British disco film.[1]
In a north London music hall, local kids dance at the disco, where the DJ is Laurie. A contest is held by an impresario to find two dancers to star in a film. Gerry is a club regular who lives with his mum and dad (a projectionist). Gerry wants to impress another dancer and winds up dancing with Claire. He is double-crossed by manager Nick Dryden.
Cast
- Gerry Sundquist as Gerry Pearson
- Patti Boulaye as Claire
- David Easter as Howard
- Mandy Perryment
- Hector Woodville
- Michael Feast as Nick Dryden
- Ferdy Mayne as Basil Silverman
- Clarke Peters as Laurie
- Richard LeParmentier as Jay Reltano
- Johnnie Wade as Mr. Pearson
- Gary Shail as Aldo
- Brenda Fricker as Mrs. Pearson
- Thomas Baptiste as Claire's father
- John Gorman as newsagent
- Christopher Pichaeli as dancer
Production
Director Ian Sharp was working at the BBC as a documentary filmmaker. They gave him a three-month sabbatical to make the movie, which Sharp says ignited his interest in working in drama.[5]
The film's star Gerry Sundquist was best known for his work in the National Theatre and was cast even though he could not dance. "It all happened so quickly," he later said. "I couldn't believe it. I was a bit worried at first - it's not exactly Richard the Third is it?... It's about a boy who is really untogether at the beginning. He's got lots of energy and zitz and he wants to be the greatest in a dance competition. But he's like me – he's got two left feet."[1]
Sunquist did intensive training to be able to dance.[1] The film was shot over three weeks.[2]