Toomorrow (1970)

A group of college students have a band that they hope will turn professional if they get the right break. Meanwhile, aliens from outer space kidnap them because they are intrigued by the band's synthesizer "tonalizer" that gives off life vibrations that their planet needs. Written and directed by Val Guest (THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE). A bizarre sci-fi pop musical (with generic pop songs) that seems rather silly today rather than 60s "groovy". Co-produced by Don Kirshner (a music producer who discovered Neil Diamond, Carole King, Kansas among others) and Harry Saltzman (producer of the James Bond movies) and notable as Olivia Newton John's film debut, some eight years before GREASE. Visually, it's quite colorful with brightly colored costumes and sets but rather innocuous when you compare it to earlier pop rock movies like HEAD with the Monkees or HELP! with the Beatles. After a one week run in London, the film was hit with an injunction (no one on the film had been paid) and except for a one time showing in Los Angeles, it hasn't been seen since its original release in 1970. It's been restored and looks marvelous but it's not a long lost jewel of a movie waiting to be rediscovered, it's a relic of its time. Still, if you're an Olivia Newton John fan (as I am), it's fun to see the pre stardom ONJ in the earliest stage of her career. With Benny Thomas, Roy Dotrice, Vic Cooper, Karl Chambers and Margaret Nolan.