One More Chance (1972)

16mm     Black & White   29 minutes

 

 

Produced and directed by John Crumpton & Graham Langford

Camera: Ken Slater, John Crumpton, Howard Perks, & Greg Baker

Editor: John Crumpton & Ian Purdie

 

Music: 'Blue Suede Shoes' by Carl Perkins.

'Laura', 'Whole Lotta Rock' and 'One More Chance' by Shane Ventura/Graham Langford.

 

The Brothel Creepers are: Harry 'Steam' Stephenson - Lead Guitar,

        Clive Duckworth - Drums,

         Daryl Hunt - Bass Guitar

 

'Are you still waiting for something good to come along your way? Anticipating as you cruise around and waste the day.

All you are doing with all those hand me downs and count me outs

It's just excusing, when all you have to do is take a chance.'

The original rocku/mocku/documentary. It tells the story of Shane Ventura the legendary rock 'n' roll artist of the late fifties and early sixties. Shane himself tells the story of his success and subsequent early retirement, through his emotional voice track.

Screamed at by thousands, mauled by the Sunday press, Shane Ventura came to represent what every mother feared for her daughter- a nobody's boy next door, whose stage act was a s explicit as it was dynamic.

To day he cuts an almost reluctant figure, surrounded by memories, now a private enigma who was once known in every household. Yet time is fickle and fashions have a nasty habit of going sour on their creators. For Shane was a true original. But the pace caught up with him and this together with the sudden death of his wife, put an immediate end to his career.

However, Shane is still alive and well living in provincial obscurity, the Greta Garbo of Grease. He claims to like it that way or at least has grown accustomed to it and anyway maybe it's only survival that really matters in the end.

Perhaps too, all heroes go young- perhaps that's because they symbolize so much of one age that they can never be part of another.

One More Chance will make that fact harder to forget.

The film was shown at the First Festival of Independent British Cinema in 1975  and a clip featured on BBC 2's Film Night

 

A re-mastered DVD version of One More Chance is soon to be available from the website.