![]() ![]() Only its very final frame sees MacLaine take possession of a guitar. Both were written by Ray Connolly and star David Essex as Jim MacLaine, but That’ll Be the Day, directed by Claude Whatham, is languid, evocative stuff, conjuring up a time, a place and a frame of mind rather than being fuelled by a complex plot. The fact is, That’ll Be the Day is a very different film to Stardust. Quadrophia was released that October, too. Within weeks, The Rocky Horror Show and American Graffiti made their débuts and the original Grease stage musical hit the West End, while Sha Na Na were making a good living and bleedin’ Showaddywaddy were winning New Faces. It’s easy enough to view That’ll Be the Day as part of a whole wave of rock ‘n’ roll years nostalgia that was riding high in 1973. Could these spruced-up reissues cause them to be re-evaluated? Down the decades since, the films have continued to be held in high regard by People Who Like That Kind of Thing, but beyond that they’ve often been overlooked. It was also a success with both critics and punters, spawning an unplanned follow-up, Stardust (1974), completing the main character’s life in rock. It’s a tribute to all involved that it was actually something special, something thoughtful and engaging. The central idea of That’ll Be the Day (1973) – a representative of Britain’s post-war generation delivers his soul to rock ‘n’ roll – might have been a vehicle for broad, clunky brush-strokes and cringe-worthy pastiche. ![]() Looking at it now, it could so easily have be awful. ![]() ❉ Could these spruced-up reissues cause these cult rock movies to be re-evaluated? ![]()
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