BFI Recommends: Fan Fever
Make time for this short hit of pure pop ecstasy, a documentary about fan culture that gives a giddying glimpse into the screaming world of 1950s pop. Fan Fever is our latest recommendation, chosen by Lisa Kerrigan.
It’s pure pop ecstasy in this short portrait of fandom in the 1950s. This is an early ITV documentary that attempts to investigate the phenomenon of teenage girls (dubbed ‘screamers’) pining after their pop idols. It was made on the occasion of Liberace arriving in England in 1956, but it looks at wider fan followings and features interviews with stars Alma Cogan and Dickie Valentine, and Liberace’s manager Seymour Heller.
What I love about it is that despite presenter Nick Barker’s efforts to ask if these fans pose a social problem, it’s clear that these young women are just having an outrageously good time. In their smashing homemade Johnnie Ray jumpers and dodgy tattoos, they are simply brilliant.
As one supportive dad points out, the girls are making friends and having fun, what’s the problem? There are some dreamy shots of customers in record shop listening booths and a girl listening to records in her bedroom. When I watch the screaming scenes of the girls clasping each other’s arms and gasping with desire, I am reminded of how powerful it is to be in an audience among friends, swooning together in the dark. We have no choice but to stand.
Lisa Kerrigan
Curator
Twitter: @kerriganagain