Forgotten Film: The Rutles: All You Need is Cash (1978)

Forgotten Films: The Rutles: All You Need is Cash (1978)

This is the 17th in my series of Forgotten Obscure or Neglected Films

Originally the brainchild of Eric Idle, conceived as a skit for Saturday Night Live, this is one of the great rock and roll mockumentaries and the Godfather of This is Spinal Tap! All You Need is Cash (as it was originally called) appeared as a Movie of the Week (or whatever NBC called it) on a Wednesday night in 1978 with little to no fanfare. I heard about it from friends and cancelled other plans so I could see this. And was I glad that I did.

The film chronicles the lives of that British singing sensation quartet , the Rutles – Dirk McQuickly, Ron Nasty, Stig O’Hara, and Barry Wom, played, respectively, by Eric Idle, Neil Innes, Rikki Fataar, and John Halsey. The film has a virtual who’s who cast of cameo appearances including Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Paul Simon, George Harrison, Michael Palin, John Cleese, Dan Ackroyd, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Bianca Jagger, Lorne Michaels, Al Franken, and Tom Davis. The whole thing runs 70 minutes and there are laughs in every one.

What really makes this one work also are the songs. Given the success of SPAMALOT and the songs from Monty Python (I hear you doing the Spam song and “I’m a Lumberjack” right now) you would think that Eric Idle would be behind those. Well, you would be wrong. The songs are credited to Neil Innes, the so called Seventh Python who worked for the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (aka The Bonzo Dog Band). He wrote the songs in MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL and appeared on the final season of the show. The songs from the film were released on a soundtrack album that is fabulous. Personal favorites include C.H.E.E.S.E.A.N.D.O.N.I.O.N.S (from the Rutles film Yellow Submarine Sandwich), OUCH! (from the film of the same name), Piggy in the Middle, and Hold My Hand. Covering every phase of the Rutles career from their performances in the Ratskeller in Hamburg to the Che Stadium show to the trip to India and the worldwide television performance of Love Life to the interesting marriages (Dirk an artist named Martini, Ron to Chastity in her SS uniform, and Barry to someone totally unexpected due to bad lighting in the church (his fiancée found herself in the arms to some Scotsmen from Hull, leading to the song “When You Find the Girl of Your Dreams in the Arms of Some Scotsmen From Hull” unfortunately not performed in the film or soundtrack) to the. formation of Rutle Corps and their eventual breakup

The film is basically a one trick pony, but it is a great trick. You may love your Spinal Tap but I will take the Rutles (Stonehenge withstanding).

The band minus Eric Idle released a second CD Archaeology in 1996 which again features Beatles pastiches along the lines of the Anthology CDs. I did not like those as well as then original but your mileage may vary.

Series organizer Todd Mason hosts more Tuesday Forgotten Film reviews at his own blog and posts a complete list of participating blogs.