Halt die Tasten heiß (1965)

Halt die Tasten heiß: Directed by Paul Henreid. With Ray Charles, Tom Bell, Mary Peach, Dawn Addams. Ray Charles attempts to help a down-on-their-luck boozing family whose son is blind. He wants to finance the recovery of his eye-sight, but the family is afraid what might happen if something goes wrong.

“Ray Charles gets top-billing as himself in this Paul Henreid (Casablanca) directed slice of swinging 60s London cheesecake. The film opens with the first of many very staged-looking live song performances – Ray doesnu0026#39;t break sweat throughout – and moves u0026#39;seamlesslyu0026#39; into a school classroom for sightless children, where Ray plays call-and-response with the kiddies on u0026quot;Hit The Road Jacku0026quot;. He strikes up a relationship with a small blind boy, and plans for the child to see a top eye specialist in Paris. Through the boyu0026#39;s smothering mum, Ray meets her gruff, overly-casual musician lover, played by Tom Bell, who accepts an invitation to be the American performeru0026#39;s arranger on a European tour including on the itinerary – you guessed – Paris.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the movie tackles blindness head-on, and has a certain grim charm where it might have gone for sentimentality, itu0026#39;s still little more than a vehicle for Ray Charles – and staged or not, you canu0026#39;t complain – Ray belts out his hits with gusto. The scene with the blind children recalls Sam Fulleru0026#39;s u0026quot;Naked Kissu0026quot;, specifically the way Fuller staged the crippled kidsu0026#39; Bluebirdu0026quot; song, and is almost as weirdly haunting in its way. But the little lad himself delivers his lines so mechanically – Ray Charles is u0026quot;as blind as a batu0026quot;, he observes drily, before being admonished by mother – that you canu0026#39;t help laughing out loud at choice moments.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot only do they not make them like this anymore, they didnu0026#39;t even back then – this was just one that slipped through the net while Ray Charles star was still somewhat in the ascendancy. Quite bizarre.”