MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW ***** UK 2023 Dir: Jake West. 124 mins
A merchant seaman’s son, the “Mancunian Man” in question is Cliff Twemlow – he had entertainment in his blood and, in addition to pursuing a body building passion that ultimately killed him, wracked up an enormous amount of credits in one medium or another. His film career is the best known part of his life (albeit in niche circles), even though so much was unfinished or unreleased. As relayed here by a host of honest, affectionate collaborators, friends and loved ones, he had over 2000 pieces of music published, appeared briefly in CORONATION STREET and even had one of his songs used in DAWN OF THE DEAD!
This remarkably funny and moving documentary from the Severin stable vividly captures, via Jake West and Mark Morris’ incredible archival material and anecdotal evidence, the Manchester of the 1970s, including Twemlow’s aspirations to make films while head doorman at the Millionaire club. He wrote THE PIKE to cash in on the post-THE RATS pulp horror paperback craze, almost getting the film adaptation made with Joan Collins in the lead; there’s some fantastic footage here of the film that never was featuring the computer-controlled robotic fish on an episode of TOMORROW’S WORLD!
Twemlow’s efforts to capitalise on the VHS boom and make Manchester the Hollywood of the North resulted in G.B.H., which has more quotable dialogue than any major Hollywood film this century (“When they put teeth in your mouth, they ruined a perfectly good arse!”) and sold 9,000 copies – leading to Cliff and his loyal crew to make a Bond-style action fest in Barbados sponsored by Grant’s Whisky and a chaotic shoot when war broke out (“We got those soldiers on the cheap”).
Cliff’s struggles with debt and addiction and his early death make this a bittersweet affair, but it’s so positive about what he achieved and such a vivid portrait of a life well-lived, that you come away utterly invigorated. Among the surviving collaborators sharing their memories in this warm hug of a tribute are Howard Arundel, John Barry, Max Beesley Snr., Chloe Jackson, Annie Jones and Steve Powell. Rejoice and cringe as the money for THE IBIZA CONNECTION is spent on partying, actors perform scenes on their knees while lit by car headlights and a Fiat Panda steals the show. The deliriousness of no-budget filmmaking has never seemed so wonderful.
Review by Steven West