‘Jeep’ is a rising star who is drafted into the Army and spends the rest of the time trying to avoid being an ‘Idol on Parade’ (the original UK title was ‘Idle on Parade’ but either suits the subject matter perfectly). His sergeant is played by American import William Bendix (as Irish), while another ‘Private Jackson’ is played by comedy stooge Bernie Winters (who appeared a lot with Newley in other films and TV shows).
The best bits of the film though are the songs, the title itself, ‘I’ve Waited So Long’, and ‘Saturday Night’. These make the film a feel-good romp, especially so for Newley fans – he shines in this without over-dominating the screen as he would in future years. Following ‘Idol on Parade’ Newley would appear in ‘Jazzboat’, ‘The Small World of Sammy Lee’, ‘The Strange World of Gurney Slade’ (for TV), and ‘Sweet November’.
Following his pop career success in the 60s Newley moved into writing musicals and eventually appearing in cabaret shows. In many ways he became a sell-out, joke version of his earlier self, but if you want to see Newley in embryo, with evidence of how talented he was, see ‘Gurney Slade’ and see ‘Idol on Parade’. Wonderful stuff.
This movie was intended as a spoof of Elvis’ entry to the army with Newley playing an “idol” called Jeep Jackson. The great British public took the film seriously however and overnight Anthony Newley, former child actor became a fully fledged adult actor/pop singer. The film is a delightful comedy in the same vein as Carry On Sergeant with the added bonus of four musical numbers performed by Newley. Look out for many star faces who later had very successful careers of their own – Sid James, Bernie Winters and Harry Fowler! Pure nostalgia enjoy! Posted by Paul Goodhead – President of the Anthony Newley Appreciation Society.
Also Known As (AKA): Idle on Parade, Idolo en apuros
File Name : Idol on Parade 1959.mkv
File Size : 703.82 MB
Resolution : 720×304
Duration : 01:21:11
Video : AVC (AVC), 25.000 fps
Audio : AAC (AAC LC), 48.0 KHz, 1 channel, 1 stream
Quality: DVDRip
Language: English
Genre: Comedy