1965 British film
Dateline Diamonds is a 1965 British music film. The film was shot in black and white. It is an example of the "pop and cop" genre of film, which was popular in the UK during the early 1960s and was intended to present young musical talents to the teenage market. The film was a low-budget B movie and was released to support the main feature film Doctor in Clover, starring Leslie Phillips.[1][2]
Plot
Major Fairclough is linked to an international criminal gang that uses the MV Galaxy (the ship which was the home of the pirate radio station Radio London) to smuggle stolen diamonds from the UK to Amsterdam. Fairclough blackmails Lester Benson, the fictitious manager of the Small Faces, into aiding and abetting his crimes.[3]
Production
The film features the original lineup of the British band the Small Faces (Jimmy Winston was replaced in 1966 by Ian McLagan). The band's manager, Don Arden, arranged for the Small Faces to appear in the film as a promotional vehicle for "I've Got Mine", the follow-up to their debut hit single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It". However, the film's release was delayed and the band received no other publicity for the single, which failed to chart. The final sequence, showing Rey Anton and Pro Forma, Mark Richardson and the Small Faces performing on stage, was filmed during a genuine Radio London night at the Rank Ballroom in Watford. The film also features a young Kiki Dee and the British vocal group The Chantelles.
The film was made at Pinewood Studios and on location. A collection of location stills and corresponding contemporary photographs is hosted at reelstreets.com.[4]
Dateline Diamonds has been released on VHS and DVD.
Cast list
with brief appearances by Phillip Birch, Earl Richmond and Ben Toney
