Hold On! (MGM) (1966)

FRENZIED FANS MOB HERMAN’S HERMITS ON ARRIVAL FOR ROLES IN “HOLD ON” Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio employees didn’t know quite what to expect when it was announced that Herman’s Hermits were arriving from England to star in the motion picture, “Hold On!” Although the Hermits spent three days last summer at MGM, appearing as guest stars with Connie Francis and Harve Presnell in ‘When the Boys Meet the Girls,” it was hardly long enough for people on the lot to size up the boys. The only information they garnered then was that the Hermits were British, wore their hair a bit longer than most youths and, as indicated by the 3,000 screaming fans who greeted them, were one of the most popular singing groups in the world. The consensus was that the lads would be somewhat cocky. Five teen-agers certainly couldn’t withstand such tremendous adulation without some sign of affectation. Now that they’ve come and gone, there is a different feeling at the studio about Herman’s Hermits. “T thought they were going to be difficult,” says Arthur Lubin, the director of “Hold On!” “They were nothing of the sort. The fact is they are three ways better than most of the other singing groups popular today. They have shorter hair, are cleaner looking and their music has melody rather than being raucous.” Lubin cannot praise the five boys from Manchester enough. “They proved eager to learn about movie techniques and they learned quickly,” he declares. “Peter Noone, head of the group, is the sharpest 17-year-old I’ve ever met.” Fred Karger, musical director of “Hold On!,” also has become a Hermits fan. Before meeting them he hadn’t realized that each has a good musical background and that Noone studied music theory before joining the group. “They’re professional musicians,” Karger admitted after working with them for an hour. But the world’s number one Herman’s Hermits booster is Sam Katzman, who produced “Hold On!” and “When the Boys Meet the Girls.” He and his actress-wife, Hortense Petra, featured in both films, gave the boys free run of their Beverly Hills home and spent a great deal of off-camera time with them, “Being with these kids afforded us all the pleasures of raising a second family with none of the problems,” said Katzman. However, it was not only executives who were charmed by Peter Noone, Derek Leckenby, Barry Whitwam, Keith Hopwood and Karl Green, Their good manners bowled over stars and [ACC OVO DGG LOO VON Peter Noone, better known as Herman, leader of the teen-age singing sensations, Herman’s Hermits, plays himself in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s rollicking romantic comedy, “‘Hold On!”’, bringing the Hermits to the screen in their first starring picture. The happy Panavision and color attraction, featuring \ 11 new song hits, also stars | Shelley Fabares, Sue Ane Lang don and Herbert Anderson. Still 1844-25 Hold On! Mat 1-A secretaries alike. The “Hold On!” set became the unofficial meeting place at MGM for those with a few minutes to spare, Greer Garson, Debbie Reynolds, Richard Chamberlain and David McCallum were among the stars who came on the set just to look, Secretaries who hadn’t left their desks in years except for lunch sneaked down back paths for a peek at the group. And when children of executives, 2ccustomed to dining with the world’s brightest movie names, pressured their fathers into taking them to visit the Hermits, they walked off with fistfuls of autographs for friends. Pearl Lighter, script supervisor for “Hold On!,” summed it up. “I’ve worked on films for almost 25 years,” re said, ‘‘and I’ve never had so much un.” HERMAN’S HERMITS BELT OUT 11 SONGS WITH A BEAT IN TUNEFUL “HOLD ON!” The big new musical beat that makes teen-agers squeal with delight is the highlight of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s new romantic comedy, “Hold On!” which puts the spotlight on those English recording sensations, Herman’s Hermits. The Hermits who, like the Beatles, gave a new meaning to the term “longhaired musicians,” belt out 11 new numbers in their own inimitable style in the Sam Katzman production, which co-stars Shelley Fabares, Sue Ane Langdon and Herbert Anderson. Probably the most bouncy of the tunes is the title song. The others are “Make Me Happy,” “Gotta Feelin’,” “We Want You, Herman,” ‘Wild Love,” “Gotta Get Away,’ “All the Things I Do for You, Baby,” “Where Were You When I Needed You,” “A Must to Avoid,” “Leaning on the Lamppost” and “The George and _ the Dragon,” a minuet-like tune in the old English tavern tradition. The Hermits, who hail from Manchester, have been together less than two years but the name of their combo has become famous around the world with hit record after hit record. Headed by Peter Noone, the group comprises Karl Green, Keith Hopwood, Derek Leckenby and Barry Whitwam. All are in their teens except “the old man,” Derek, who is all of a ripe twenty. Their first big hit was “I’m Into Something Good,” which was followed by five straight No. I singles, topped by the multi-million seller, “I’m Henry VIII, I Am.” The Hermits made their motion picture debut with Connie Francis and Harve Presnell in MGM’s “When the Boys Meet the Girls” and were so impressive that they were immediately signed for their own starring picture. Arthur Lubin, who directed “Hold On!”, contends that all five boys have a natural flair for acting and that Herman could make a living as a leading man should popular taste in music ever return to something like, say Guy Lombardo, and force the Hermits to seek new careers. AVOID SAMSON'S DOOMED DOWNFALL So frenzied is the popularity of the British rock ’n’ roll group, Herman’s Hermits, that not only have mobs of teenagers torn off parts of their clothing but have also attempted to snip off locks of hair. Consequently, MGM took every precaution when the five entertainers lined up at the studio barbershop for trims prior to starting their roles in their first starring film, “Hold On!” Lest an emboldened secretary attempt to take advantage of the opportunity to secure a hirsute souvenir, the doors of the barbershop were locked and a porter quickly disposed of every shorn curl. Well—almost every. He later sheepishly admitted that he had saved a few to distribute among the kids in his neighborhood, who treasured them like jewels ! ACTOR CAN'T LOSE “DADDY” IDENTITY Herbert Anderson is aware that when he makes his opening appearance on the screen in MGM’s swinging comedy, “Hold On!” with Herman’s Hermits, the immediate audience reaction will be —‘There’s Dennis the Menace’s father.” “Tt’s always that way,” declares Anderson, “A performer in a TV series expects to be recognized in public. But that show hasn’t filmed in almost four years and still, wherever I go, I am pointed out as Dennis’ father. “At first, I decided it was because of my glasses. So I switched from round to square frames. Even my wife didn’t notice the difference! Then I got a new tailor and finally, in desperation, I grew a mustache. Despite all this, people kept recognizing me as Dennis’ daddy. “In fact, Jay North, who played Dennis in the series, recently had lunch with me at the Farmer’s Market. Jay has grown into a young man so rapidly that few of the people around us realized who he was. But I couldn’t escape recognition.” Anderson’s current portrayal of a harried U.S. government space official frantically involved with Herman’s Hermits in “Hold On!” may help to make audiences forget his “Dennis” image. “l’ve concentrated on TV guest appearances since leaving the series,” he says, “because all the movie scripts offered me up to now had me cast as the worried father of children. It’s not that 1 don’t enjoy playing the father role but I want people to realize that I’m capable of doing something else. “It’s too easy to become stereotyped in Hollywood, I used to think becoming established was the hardest part of an acting career, but becoming ‘unestablished’ after four years in one role is even harder. In fact, I’ve about given up the fight. The series is so widely syndicated now that it is seen somewhere in the world almost every day. “So,” asserts Anderson, “T’ve gone back to my regular tailor, started wearing the old round glasses again, and shaved the mustache!” EY COMELY COMEDIENNE ... 5} Sue Ane Langdon adds to the 3 looks and laughs of Metro comedy, *‘Hold On!”’, first starEy ring picture for the teen-age’ BY singing sensations, Herman’s BY Hermits. Introducing 11 song 3 hits, the Panavision and color attraction also stars Shelley Fabares and Herbert Anderson. ie AY Goldwyn-Mayer’s romantic : is 3 Still Sue Ane Langdon 3098-E Mat 1-E Hold On! Ie Still 1844-52 Herman (Peter Noone), leader of Herman’s Hermits, is almost torn to pieces by a mob of squealing teen-age fans in Goldwyn-Mayer’s tune-filled comedy, ‘‘Hold On!”’ in which he plays himself. Together with the famous singing sensations, the cast of the lilting Panavision and color attraction stars Shelley Fabares, Sue Ane Langdon and Herbert Anderson. Metro Hold On! Mat 2-B SOME HOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES LIKE MINK BUT SUE ANE LANGDON PREFERS HORSES The average Hollywood queen likes caviar, sleek cars and mink, But Sue Ane Langdon will take horses any day. The young actress, comedienne and singer was raised on Texas’ famed King Ranch and possesses esquestrian skills that would put a rancher’s wife to shame. Happily, Miss Langdon has yet to appear in a movie that does not feature horses, In her current MGM romantic comedy, “Hold On!,” in which she costars with Herman’s Hermits and Shelley Fabares, there’s a beautiful white steed used in a dream sequence. Prior to that, Sue Ane added to the fun of “When the Boys Meet the Girls,” which had an entire stable of horses, “T almost didn’t take up an acting career because I thought it would take me away from horses,” she declares. “I even considered studying to become a veterinarian.” While appearing in a Broadway musical, the actress became acquainted with the mounted policemen in the theatre district. One night she charmed a “mountie” right off his mount, and the following day her picture beamed from every paper in the city—riding a horse in Times Square. “Soon after I arrived in Hollywood,” she relates, “I was cast as a regular in the ‘Bachelor Father’ series, and during breaks I ran over to the studio’s western streets where there were always horses. I was the bane of the wardrobe women’s existence. Before every scene they had to brush my dress and clean my shoes.” During her subsequent screen career, Sue Ane invariably found herself near horses. In ‘“The Great Imposter” the dimpled beauty played a Texas warden’s daughter and there was a horse. In “The Rounders” there were lots of horses, In two Elvis Presley films, “Roustabout” and “Frankie and Johnny” the sets abounded with horses. Recently, Miss Langdon bought a GO INTO ORBIT MGM received permission from NASA to build a mock-up duplicate of Gemini V for scenes with Herman’s Hermits in their first starring picture, “Hold On!” Instead of astronauts Conrad and Cooper, the ship carries Herman and one Hermit, with the other three Hermits hanging outside the capsule on tether ropes. And in this unique space setting, they all sing, “You Put Me Into Orbit, Baby, and I May Never Come Down.” P/S—tThey do come down. ranch near Hollywood where she raises Arabian horses, and she “heads for the hills” whenever possible. She does more than pat the animals and feed them sugar. She can rope, doctor, drive a truck, operate a bulldozer or paint a barn. Her husband, producer-director Jack Emrek, says, “Sue Ane is the world’s most amazing woman. She can work around the ranch all day and go toa party at night looking lovely and completely helpless!” ARMOR VS. AMOUR Shapely Sue Ane Langdon does her best to pierce the armor worn by Pater Noone, the Herman of Herman’s Hermits, in a dream sequence of MetroGoldwyn-Mayer’s lilting romantic comedy, ‘‘Hold On!’’, the Hermits’ first starring picture. Adding to the entertainment of the Panavision and color attraction are Shelley Fabares and Herbert Anderson, plus 11 new song hits. Still 1844-x-26 Hold On! Mat 1-C