The eclectic references in the sequence includes "vaudeville, melodrama, the country house mystery and Astaire and Rogers". At the end, Nicky, to a rapturous reception from screaming female fans, "high-kicking his way centre-stage", sings the chorus of "Living Doll". Thus the quotations from "the performers of yesteryear" merge with "self-quotation" by Cliff. This weaving of the present into the nostalgia creates a sense of continuity and forges a "common bond". Napper reads the reprise of the Edwardian-inspired number at the end, complete with a reconciled Hamilton Black onstage, as "the point at which the generational conflict of the film is resolved, significantly through a continuity of entertainment values and styles".