Take Me High

For the title song, see Take Me High (song).

Take Me High
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Askey
Written byChristopher Penfold
Produced byKenneth Harper
Starring
CinematographyNorman Warwick
Music byTony Cole
Distributed byAnglo-EMI Film Distributors Ltd.
Release date
  • 1973 (1973)
(UK)
Running time
90 min.
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

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.[1] It was written by Christopher Penfold.

Cast

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Production

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Set and filmed mainly in Birmingham, it 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.[2]

Soundtrack

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Take Me High
Soundtrack album by
Cliff Richard
ReleasedDecember 1973
Recorded26–29 May & 3–6 September 1973
GenrePop
LabelColumbia (EMI) SCX6435
ProducerDavid Mackay
Cliff Richard chronology
The Best of Cliff Volume Two
(1972) 		Take Me High
(1973) 		Help It Along
(1974)
Singles from Take Me High
  1. "Take Me High"
    Released: November 1973

A soundtrack album was released in December 1973 (UK LP: EMI – EMC 3016,[3] UK CD: EMI – 7243 4 77731 2 9[4]). The title track was a UK top 30 single (No. 27), and the album peaked at No. 41.[5][6]

Track listing

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Side One

  1. "It's Only Money" (Tony Cole)
  2. "Midnight Blue" (Tony Cole)
  3. "Hover” (Instrumental, The David Mackay Orchestra) (Tony Cole)
  4. "Why?" (with Anthony Andrews) (Tony Cole)
  5. "Life" (Tony Cole)
  6. "Driving" (Tony Cole)
  7. "The Game" (Tony Cole)
  8. "Brumburger Duet" (with Debbie Watling) (Tony Cole)

Side Two

  1. "Take Me High" (Tony Cole)
  2. "The Anti-Brotherhood of Man" (Tony Cole)
  3. "Winning" (Tony Cole)
  4. "Driving" (Instrumental, The David Mackay Orchestra) (Tony Cole)
  5. "Join the Band" (Tony Cole)
  6. "The Word is Love" (Tony Cole)
  7. "Brumburger (Finale)" (Tony Cole)

Releases

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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.[7]

Reception

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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."[8]

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."[9]

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."[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Take Me High". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Take Me High". ReelStreets. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Take Me High". Discogs. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Take Me High". Discogs. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Cliff Richard UK Chart Positions". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  6. ^ Steve Turner -Cliff Richard: The Biography 0745952798-2008 Page 265 The songs, written by Australian Tony Cole, were vacuous and instantly forgettable.
  7. ^ "DVD: Take Me High".
  8. ^ "Take Me High". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 41 (480): 35. 1 January 1974 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 905. ISBN 9780992936440.
  10. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 988. ISBN 0586088946.
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