Dateline Diamonds


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.

Plot

Major Fairclough is linked to an international criminal gang that uses the MV Galaxy 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. 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

Guest Artistes

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,"