Take Me High

''Take Me High'' (also known as ''Hot Property'') is a 1973 British film directed by David Askey and starring Cliff Richard (in his final film role), Deborah Watling, Hugh Griffith, George Cole and Anthony Andrews. It was written by Christopher Penfold.

Plot

Tim, a merchant banker, is sent to Birmingham, instead of New York, where he would prefer to go. He becomes involved in a local restaurant and falls in love with local girl, Sarah.

Tim arranges for peace between the capitalist Sir Harry Cunningham and left-wing politician Bert Jackson. Tim and Sarah co-found a new burger bar selling “Brumburgers”.

Cast

* Cliff Richard as Tim Matthews
* Deborah Watling (credited as Debbie Watling) as Sarah
* Hugh Griffith as Sir Harry Cunningham
* George Cole as Bert Jackson
* Anthony Andrews as Hugo Flaxman
* Richard Wattis as Sir Charles Furness
* Madeline Smith as Vicki
* Moyra Fraser as Molly
* Ronald Hines as Sam
* Jimmy Gardner as Hulbert
* Noel Trevarthen as Paul
* Graham Armitage as Boardman
* John Franklyn-Robbins as Alderman
* Peter Marshall as grandson
* Elizabeth Scott as waitress
* Polly Williams as receptionist

Production

The movie was produced by Kenneth Harper, who had produced Richard's first three starring vehicles in the early 1960s. It was announced for production by in May 1973 Nat Cohen of EMI films under the title ''Hot Property''.

It was Richard's first studio movie since '' Finders Keepers'' in 1966 although he had done some movies for Billy Graham and a TV series. "It really is good to be back making a big film," he said.

"Cliff finds a girlfriend in the picture but there is no marriage scene," said Harper.

Filming began on 4 June in Birmingham. The movie features many landmarks from the city, including Gas Street Basin, Alpha Tower, the Council House (as a hotel), Spaghetti Junction, New Street, Corporation Street, Central Library and the Hall of Memory.

Richard said during filming that "it's a happy film and its message, if any, is a fun one. I wouldn't play in a film which I thought likely to have any bad influence. I shall be able to take my Mum to the premiere of ''Hot Property'' without feeling embarrassed about what she'll see - that's my standard."

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album was released in December 1973 (UK LP: EMI – EMC 3016, UK CD: EMI – 7243 4 77731 2 9). The title track was a UK top 30 single (No. 27), and the album peaked at No. 41.

Track listing

Side One
#"It's Only Money" ( Tony Cole)
#"Midnight Blue" (Tony Cole)
#"Hover” (Instrumental, The David Mackay Orchestra) (Tony Cole)
#"Why?" (with Anthony Andrews) (Tony Cole)
#"Life" (Tony Cole)
#"Driving" (Tony Cole)
#"The Game" (Tony Cole)
#"Brumburger Duet" (with Debbie Watling) (Tony Cole)

Side Two
#" Take Me High" (Tony Cole)
#"The Anti-Brotherhood of Man" (Tony Cole)
#"Winning" (Tony Cole)
#"Driving" (Instrumental, The David Mackay Orchestra) (Tony Cole)
#"Join the Band" (Tony Cole)
#"The Word is Love" (Tony Cole)
#"Brumburger (Finale)" (Tony Cole)

Releases

It was released on VHS by Warner Home Video in 1988. It was not given a retail release on DVD until March 2019, although a free DVD of the film was issued with the ''Daily Mail'' on 25 September 2010.

Reception

''The Guardian'' wrote "Richard acts personably enough... not too bad as British musicals go."

''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' wrote: "An inauspicious feature debut for director David Askey, also marking Cliff Richard's first screen appearance since his Billy Graham vehicle of six years ago. Despite the plot's pretensions to social panacea, this is just one more creaky vehicle to display his charm and well-preserved good looks. The curious attempt to provide some realistic ballast by casting the star in the unlikely role of a merchant banker, and by relegating the songs to soundtrack accompaniment, is offset by the fact that the director's one discernible ambition is to capture as many pretty shots of Richard as possible. Hugh Griffith is left to provide scant light relief as the inevitable rumbustious eccentric."

''Filmink'' called the film "a love letter to hamburgers and the city of Birmingham... an attempt to repeat the success of Cliff Richards’ early 1960s musicals but done cheaply and weirdly (characters sometimes sing on screen, other times sing in voice over)."

''The Radio Times Guide to Films'' gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "The 'comedy' plods along with all the zip of Spaghetti Junction at rush hour. Indigestible."

Leslie Halliwell said: "Jaded youth musical with no dancing but some zip and bounce to commend it to mums and dads if not to its intended young audience."

Academic Paul Moody wrote:

The film is so strange, at times jaw-droppingly weird, that it has the same intoxicating power of an Ed Wood film. It is difficult to think of any British film like it, and it undeniably has
historical value in its depiction of Birmingham in the 1970s. But like most films of this ilk... it is difficult to analyse historically, because it feels almost out of its own time, a film that sits outside of the usual boundaries of normal cinema.

Writer Catherine O'Flynn observed:

''Take Me High'' is a mind-bogglingly strange film. A critique of rapacious capitalism. A hymn to a second city. A vehicle for a flagging pop star. A film about a hamburger. It’s a musical without hits and a comedy without jokes. It’s one of a kind. It failed to successfully repackage and rebrand Cliff Richard but it was years ahead in its imagining of a repackaged, rebranded post-industrial city.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0070194
''Take Me High''
at Letterbox DVD

1973 films
British musical films
Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios
History of Birmingham, West Midlands
Films set in Birmingham, West Midlands
1970s English-language films
1970s British films