Ferry Cross The Mersey

This movie, filmed in 1964 all on location in Liverpool, is an enjoyable view of the vanished world of the Merseybeat Sound as it existed in England in 1964.
It's not as polished or professional as Richard Lester's and The Beatles' A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, which is actually, as other reviewers have noted, the other side of the coin of what was happening in Liverpool with the Merseybeat in '64: This movie is about a local boy and his band going to the top to make it big, while The Beatles movie is about those Mad Lads from Liverpool who had already made it big and were basking in their own celebrity.
Both movies were unfortunately filmed in black & white, instead of what could have made them much more interesting - colour film, and have the further coincident link that both The Beatles and Gerry & The Pacemakers were managed by the one and the same Brian Epstein, and were produced, at least at first, by the one and same Sir George Martin.
Unlike The Dave Clark Five's movie HAVING A WILD WEEKEND aka: CATCH US IF YOU CAN, this movie has heart and soul, with Gerry Marsden's winning, likeable personality, whilst the DC5's movie is without a heart at its centre, and looks it, in terms of its somber, dark mood, actually more typical of today's grunge rock hard core bands.
45 years later, having missed this film in the theater when it was first released, I finally got the chance to buy a DVD of the film and enjoy it, as a trip back in time to a simpler, less complicated world when the British Invasion was rocking America and The Beatles reigned supreme.

FERRY CROSS THE MERSEY, which begins with the ferryboat ride described in Gerry's wonderful pop tune, is a fine piece of the musical history of the Merseybeat Sound, with scenes actually filmed at Liverpool's famed Cavern Club, where The Beatles got their start on its smoke-filled basement stages. Worth at least one viewing! Enjoy!

Dejael