Expresso Bongo (1959)
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54% of users liked it
(168 ratings)
In this witty music-business satire, Johnny Jackson (Laurence Harvey) is a talent agent down on his luck who thinks his tide may have turned when he spots a teenage rock & roll fan wailing away in a coffeehouse. Dubbing him "Bongo Herbert" (Cliff Richard, in a role the now knighted and… More In this witty music-business satire, Johnny Jackson (Laurence Harvey) is a talent agent down on his luck who thinks his tide may have turned when he spots a teenage rock & roll fan wailing away in a coffeehouse. Dubbing him "Bongo Herbert" (Cliff Richard, in a role the now knighted and born-again pop icon would probably prefer to forget), Johnny puts Herbert on the fast track to teenage stardom, using his record company and radio connections to make Herbert's first single a smash hit. Johnny then decides that a little image modification might make Herbert a bigger draw, so his follow-up is a treacly, inspirational tune, "The Shrine on the Second Floor," which hardly gibes with Herbert's newfound fondness for strippers and love-starved American actresses. But just when Johnny thinks he has a meal ticket for life, it's discovered that Herbert is really a minor, making his contract with Johnny null and void. Cliff Richard was at the height of his first wave of popularity as "The British Elvis" when Expresso Bongo was released, leading to a great deal of speculation about how closely it mirrored his own career (the answer probably is: not very much). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Val Guest
- Written By
- Wolf Mankowitz
- Genres
- Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Dec 1, 1959 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Has a charm all its own, but that's not enough to take the ringing of the bongo drums out of my ears.
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Laurence Harvey
as Johnny Jackson
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Sylvia Syms
as Maisie King
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Yolande Donlan
as Dixie Collins
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Cliff Richard
as Bongo Herbert
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Meier Tzelniker
as Mayer
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Ambrosine Phillpotts
as Lady Rosemary
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Eric Pohlmann
as Leon
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Gilbert Harding
as Himself
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Hermione Baddeley
as Penelope
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Reginald Beckwith
as Rev. Tobias Craven
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Wilfred Lawson
as Mr. Rudge
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Martin Miller
as Kakky
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Avis Bunnage
as Mrs. Rudge
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Barry Lowe
as Beast Burns
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Kenneth Griffith
as Charlie
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Susan Hampshire
as Cynthia
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Peter Myers
as Cynthia's boy friend
- Esma Cannon
- Maureen O'Connor
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Wolf Mankowitz
as Sandwich Man
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Susan Burnet
as Edna Rudge
- Katherine Keeton
- Norma Parnell
- Pamela Morris
