Filmed in London by Initial Film and Television Prods. in association with VVL & RPTA for BBC TV. Executive producer, Malcolm Gerrie; producer, Brendan Hughes; director, Roger Pomphrey; editor, Bruce McKenna;
With: Dusty Springfield, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Elvis Costello, Martha Reeves, Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, Neil Tennant, Jerry Wexler.
Hourlong docu celebrates the '60s according to Dusty by using historical TV footage that includes a duet with Jimi Hendrix, talking with Woody Allen and singing "Wimoweh" with her out-of-tune folk trio, the Springfields. Recent footage of fellow musicians adds to her lore: Martha Reeves explains how Springfield introduced Motown acts to the U.K.; "Absolutely Fabulous" creators Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French provide a kookiness through off-the-wall interviews of the songstress; Bacharach, shot inexplicably while skiing, explains her unique imprint.
As comfy as the show gets, it never explains why she dropped out of the music scene in the early '70s. It leaps straight from the brilliant Memphis sessions of 1969 to her 1987 recording with the Pet Shop Boys, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and concludes with a 1995 session in Nashville. Great concert footage is never identified (some of it appears relatively current) and special ends with recording of "A Very Fine Love" with no coda to explain its outcome. Loose editing provides ample amounts of Springfield but gushing interviewees are often redundant.
director of photography, Mike Metcalfe; sound, Tim Fraser.
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