Director: Ken Hughes
Screenplay: Ken Hughes, John Antrobus
Based On A Novel By: Rex Rienits
Cinematography: Nicolas Roeg
Starring: Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries, David Lodge, Bernie Winters, James Booth, Al Mulock, Joyce Blair, Leo McKern
Year: 1960
Duration: 96 mins
Country: UK
BBFC Certification: 12
Some films are more interesting as time goes on rather than at the time of release. In the case of Ken Hughes’ 1960 film Jazz Boat it’s interesting not because it is some lost masterpiece but because it manages to bottle a moment in British culture.
Young electrician Bert Harris (Anthony Newley) gets mixed up with a local gang run by Spider Kelly (James Booth) when he lets them believe that he is the notorious burglar known as ‘The Cat’. Things go wrong for Bert when he has to help out with a real jewel robbery but he loses confidence shortly after and steals the jewels back from Spider to return to their rightful place. What follows is a strange blend of slapstick crime caper, teen musical and also some genuine attempt at menace, however none of these elements manage to coexist and instead gives the audience a big dose of tonal whiplash.
All that aside I believe that this is still a film that is worth your time to explore today as it hides a lot of notable tipping points in British cinema.
Jazz Boat was produced by Warwick Films which means it was produced by Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and Irving Allen who at the time were in the process of winding down their partnership. In fact Cubby would the same year move on to work with Harry Saltzman and create EON Productions and start work on Dr. No three years later.
The film is directed by Ken Hughes who would go on to direct Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) which would also star Lionel Jeffries. Hughes had worked with Warwick Films a few times before and had courted controversy with The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960). He would later partner with Anthony Newley again to make The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963) which I think he does a better job with than the mishmash of genres in Jazz Boat.
Also behind the camera we have Nicolas Roeg who would go on to create cult classics like Walkabout, Don’t Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth. It is a joy to always see Roeg’s name pop up in credits as he works his way through the ranks. It’s hard to truly spot anything that resembles his directorial work here but there is a haunted house sequence towards the end that does perhaps hint at the darkness to come.
That darkness is mainly held by none other than Lionel Jeffries in a role against type as Detective Sergeant Thompson, who would like nothing more than to put Spider Kelly away for good. At the other end of the spectrum we have a very broad comedic performance by Bernie Winters as Newley’s friend and member of Spider’s gang and unfortunately was terribly miscast in this film.
The main draw of the film is Anthony Newley as our hapless hero. In terms of charm and talent he is far and away the best thing about Jazz Boat. He gets some very funny moments when he tries to play the heavy as he embellishes his criminal credentials, which also brings to mind David Jason as Del Trotter.
Newley at the time was a rising music star having already starred in Warwick Films’ Idle on Parade, incidentally also released by Indicator this year. Newley gets a rather strange musical number where he laments about the path he has chosen while wandering the banks of the river Thames. They give him various things to do to try their hardest to keep it visually interesting but kneeling down and petting a dog feels like a step too far. The other musical number, choreographed by Lionel Blair, is equally disjointed as Spider’s gang cause chaos in a local market. It’s just not ‘cool’ enough.
And that pretty much sums up the entire experience of Jazz Boat. It feels like the last throw of the dice in terms of what made British cinema great in the 1950s. There are moments of crime, a bit of comedy and a few musical numbers led by the equally uncool Ted Heath and His Music. There are also the tiniest hints of what is to come, with Anthony Newley’s musical number throwing the film forward to the age of Mersey Beat, but in 1959 this film feels like a relic from a rapidly disappearing world.
Special Features
Audio Commentary with film historians Will Fowler and Vic Pratt (2026)
This is where the film really started to come alive for me. I love audio commentaries particularly if at first watch the film doesn’t connect. The track is very conversational but they have a great amount of knowledge about 1950s and 1960s British cinema. I loved the connections they brought to other Warwick Films, the Edgar Wallace Mysteries film series and of course The Beatles and David Bowie.
Cusp of an Era (11 minutes, 2026)
Broadcast and film composer Neil Brand is my go-to person when you need someone to effortlessly and entertainingly bring music to life. It’s a short piece but it’s packed full of information about jazz at this time and Ted Heath’s history as a band leader.
Now and Then: Anthony Newley (32 minutes, 1968)
This archival interview with the star of Jazz Boat is frank and honest as Newley talks about the differences between living and working in Britain and America. It’s interesting in hindsight to hear his thoughts on press invasion in the States versus the rather more respectful and disinterested press in the UK. How times have changed!