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
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!
The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.
Dust & Metal Dust & Metal
Documentary 2022 82 mins Director: Esther Johnson
Discover unfamiliar histories of Vietnam through Esther Johnson’s poetic documentary on the country’s love affair with the motorbike.
Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound
Documentary 2024 91 mins Director: Antony Crook
Celestial sonic odyssey charting the cult Scottish band’s expansive career from the mid-90s to their tenth studio album written during lockdown.
Flow Flow
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 85 mins Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Oscar-winning animated adventure about an unlikely group of animals who must work together to survive a natural disaster.
Invasion Invasion
Science Fiction 1966 79 mins Director: Alan Bridges
An alien fugitive, injured in a road accident, pitches up at a rural hospital. But when two intergallactic pursuers arrive, things start to heat up...
Twiggy Twiggy
Documentary 2024 94 mins Director: Sadie Frost
International supermodel, actor, singer and one of the most iconic British figures – this is the real story of Twiggy.