Dateline Diamonds is a 1966 black and white British music film directed by Jeremy Summers and starring William Lucas, Kenneth Cope and the Small Faces.
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 as a supporting feature to Doctor in Clover (1966).
Contents
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.
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 November 1965 follow-up to their debut hit single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It". However, the film's release was delayed until April 1966 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 was made at Pinewood Studios and on location.
Dateline Diamonds has been released on VHS and DVD.
Cast list
William Lucas as Major Fairclough
Kenneth Cope as Lester Benson
George Mikell as Paul Verlekt
Conrad Phillips as Tom Jenkins
Patsy Rowlands as Mrs Edgecumbe
Burnell Tucker as Dale Meredith (a fictitious DJ)
Anna Carteret as Gay Jenkins
Vanda Godsell as Mrs Jenkins
Gertan Klauber as Meyerhof
Doel Luscombe as assistant commissioner
Peter Zander as Spankaren
Geoffrey Lumsden as army officer
Ronald Bridges as garage attendant
David Kirk as dock policeman
Phillip Birch
Earl Richmond
Ben Toney
Guest Artistes
The Small Faces
The Chantelles
Kiki Dee
Mark Richardson
Kenny Everett
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "An uninspired attempt to capture two markets by combining sleuthing with pop music. Neither element is in any way distinguished, and the intervals for music merely slow down the detection,"