''Catch Us If You Can'' (released as ''Having a Wild Weekend'' in the U.S.) was the 1965 feature-film debut of

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, best known for feature films such as ''Point Blank (1967 film), Point Blank'' (1967), ''Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''Zardoz'' (1974), ''Exorcist I ...

. It was designed as a

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles ( motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles ( trains, trams ...

for pop band

the Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

, whose popularity at the time rivaled that of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

, and is named after their hit song "

Catch Us If You Can "Catch Us If You Can" is a 1965 song from The Dave Clark Five, written by group's drummer Dave Clark and guitarist Lenny Davidson. It was the title song for the film of the same name, which was retitled ''Having a Wild Weekend'' in the United ...

Plot

The five are living together in a London flat. They make breakfast then drive to

Smithfield Market Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Barth ...

, passing multiple advertising posters featuring a girl and the slogan "Meat for Go". During the filming of a

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for a "Meat for Go" campaign set in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, stuntman Steve ( Dave Clark), disillusioned by the inanity of his job, absconds in an

E-type Jaguar The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1974. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the m ...

(260 EYW, one of the props) with a young actress/model, Dinah (

Barbara Ferris Barbara Gillian Ferris (born 27 July 1942, London) is an English actress and former fashion model. She appeared in a number of films and productions for television and is possibly best remembered as Dinah, the young woman who eloped with Dave ...

). After a visit to Oasis Swimming Pools, an open-air swimming pool in central London, and a memorable scene in and around the Great Conservatory on the grounds of

Syon House Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The family's traditional central London residence h ...

, they make their way across a wintry southern England toward

Burgh Island Burgh Island is a tidal island on the coast of South Devon in England near the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel. The other buildings are thr ...

, off the coast of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. Dinah is contemplating buying the island, presumably to escape the pressures of her celebrity as the "Butcher Girl" in the TV meat advertising campaign. This act of rebellion is cynically exploited by the advertising executive behind the campaign, Leon Zissell (

David de Keyser David de Keyser (22 August 1927 – 20 February 2021) was an English actor and narrator. Life and career Born in London in August 1927, in the mid-sixties de Keyser worked twice with the writer, actor and director Jane Arden. Their first coll ...

), who dispatches two of his henchmen to pursue the fleeing couple. On their journey, Steve and Dinah first encounter a group of

beatniks Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...

squatting in MOD-owned buildings on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies w ...

(some of this sequence was shot in the evacuated village of

Imber Imber is an uninhabited village within the British Army's training area on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. It lies in an isolated area of the Plain, about west of the A360 road between Tilshead and West Lavington. A linear village, its ...

), and then, an eccentric, upper-class, middle-aged married couple (

Yootha Joyce Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 – 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom '' Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and its spin-off '' George a ...

and

Robin Bailey William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television's ''R ...

) in the opulent surroundings of the

Royal Crescent The Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent in the city of Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian ...

in Bath, Somerset. Steve also plans to visit his boyhood hero, Louie ( David Lodge), whose youth club in

London's East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have univ ...

he attended, and who has since relocated to Devon. Having fled the police and Zissell's henchmen after a fancy-dress party in the

Roman Baths In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

at Bath, Steve and Dinah (with the rest of Steve's gang and the police in pursuit) make their way toward Devon. Louie recognises Dinah instantly because of her TV celebrity, but fails to recognise Steve and misremembers his name, even after being introduced. Dinah's island also proves to be disappointing; at low tide, it is reachable from the mainland, and Zissell, who is besotted with Dinah, has already arrived.

Themes

Although they perform the off-screen soundtrack music, the Dave Clark Five (unlike the Beatles in their films) do not portray themselves, but appear to be a team of freelance stuntmen/extras led by the saturnine Steve ( Dave Clark). Clark had worked as a

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

on several films, which appears to have provided him with a level of cinematic experience and camera sense rare for a pop artist of the time. The other four members of the band perform under their real first names, but have comparably minor parts. The film is less of a conventional pop vehicle than one dealing with the frailty of personal relationships, the flimsiness of dreams and the difficulty of maintaining spontaneity, authenticity, and integrity in a stage-managed "society of the spectacle." Boorman's debut film drew favourable notices from

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions of ...

and

Dilys Powell Elizabeth Dilys Powell, CBE (20 July 1901 – 3 June 1995) was a British film critic and travel writer who contributed to ''The Sunday Times'' for more than 50 years. Powell was known for her receptiveness to cultural change in the cinema an ...

, as it captured much of the cultural energy of the time.

Production notes

In a running gag,

Lenny Davidson Leonard Arthur 'Lenny' Davidson (born 30 May 1944 in Enfield, Middlesex, England) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for the Dave Clark Five. Career Davidson was born in Enfield as one of three children. H ...

is the only member of the Dave Clark Five who does not utter a single word in the film, usually because the others do not let him talk. He comes dressed as

Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Gro ...

to the Arts Ball party (until Dinah switches costumes with him to avoid being caught by the police and her bosses; this is evident not only in the film but also on the back cover of the soundtrack album).

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

rejected the role of Dinah as being "too poppy."

Denis Payton Denis Archibald West Payton (11 August 1943 – 17 December 2006) was an English musician who played tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, guitar and harmonica in the rock and roll band the Dave Clark Five. Biography Payton was born in Walthamst ...

's last name is misspelled as "Paynton" in the opening and closing credits. A still image of

from the film was used as sleeve art on the singles "

Ask Ask is the active verb for a direct question. Ask may also refer to: Places * Ask, Akershus, a village in Gjerdrum municipality, Viken county, Norway * Ask, Buskerud, a village in Ringerike municipality, Viken county, Norway * Ask, Vestland, a ...

" and "

Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. Recorded in autumn 1985, it was first released on their third studio album ''The Queen Is Dead'' in June 1986. It was also released as a single in Germany. Back ...

" by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to em ...

Release

At an appearance in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, more than 1,100 fans created bedlam by stamping on the floor, standing on their seats and screaming. A similar reaction occurred when the band visited a

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

cinema to promote the film, with more than 5,000 fans breaking through barricades to reach the band members, causing policemen at the scene to call for reinforcements.

Reception

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewer

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

praised the film as an "obvious but strangely haunting romance" and a "fresh and fetching British film" in a contemporaneous review. Writing in the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newsp ...

'', reviewer Gordon Stoneham wrote: "''Having a Wild Weekend'' is a rather odd vehicle to spotlight a group of teen-age idols, but, on the other hand, it shows them in a new and quite pleasant light."

Soundtrack

Of the twelve tracks on the U.S. soundtrack album (Epic 24162/26162), only four are from the film: "Having a Wild Weekend", "

", "Sweet Memories" and "On the Move". The remainder of songs used in the film were from previous albums, including "Time" (from ''Glad All Over''), "Move On" and "Ol' Sol" (from ''American Tour''), and "When" and "I Can't Stand It" (from ''Coast to Coast'').

References

External links

* *
Reel Streets:Catch Us If You Can
{{Dave Clark Five 1965 films 1960s musical comedy-drama films British musical comedy-drama films 1960s road comedy-drama films 1960s English-language films British road comedy-drama films Films directed by John Boorman The Dave Clark Five 1960s chase films British chase films Jukebox musical films Warner Bros. films Films scored by Basil Kirchin 1965 directorial debut films 1965 comedy films 1965 drama films 1960s British films