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The plot of That'll Be The Day is simple but the sum of its parts put it beyond the usual boy-meets-girl boy-becomes-pop-star formula enshrined by countless Elvis Presley and Cliff Richards films.
Jim becomes proficient at cheating and loving, indeed they become his mainstay whilst rock and roll music is his excuse and escape route, as much as his dream. The fairground with its brash excitement and cheap thrills is a visual counterpoint to rock and roll music itself, and they contrast sharply with strait-laced everyday Britain. Director Claude Whatham shows the excitement and sleaze of becoming an adult without pretension. Made in 1973 it nostalgically recreates the late 1950s but is never sentimental or mawkish. In the same year 29-year-old George Lucas drew upon his experience of 1950s small town America for American Graffiti. The shadow of the Vietnam War hangs over the bright innocence of the characters in Graffiti, whereas the characters in That'll Be The Day are already blighted by the repercussions of World War II. For both films rock and roll is a guiding light that transcends and illuminates everyday reality. That'll Be The Day
established (Sir) David Puttnam as a film producer and made David Essex
a star, but whatever happened to its director Claude Whatham?
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David
Essex in his first starring role as Jim MacLaine is the perfectly laconic
hero, who decides to learn from the university of life. His intentions
are all too clear in the striking image of him throwing his schoolbooks
off a bridge. Having thrown away his ‘bright prospects’ literally for the
fairground, his tutor becomes Mike a stereotypical Teddy Boy. Played by
Ringo Starr, Mike teaches Jim how to cheat customers on the dodgems and
how to seduce young girls.