Starring Johnny Johnston, Lisa Johns, Alix Talton, and Alan Freed
Directed by Fred F. Sears
Music and Lyrics by various
This week, we're jumping back a decade to investigate the early years of rock and roll. Rock began with rhythm and blues in the southern US around 1945. It moved slowly north as many black musicians migrated to the big cities. Freed, a disc jockey and promoter, played this jumpy and brassy new sound for white and black teenagers, helping to break down racial barriers in pop music. He also arranged live concerts for black and white audiences.
Thanks to heavy promotion by Freed and others, this new music had caught on enough that the song "Rock Around the Clock" was a sensation when used over the credits of the 1955 high school drama The Blackboard Jungle. The song's success helped to bring rock into the mainstream and made its originators Bill Haley & the Comets into a household word. This movie was a response to that success and was a way for Freed to promote some of his other acts to the general public. How does the fictional story of the Comets' rise to fame look today? Let's begin with big band orchestra manager Steve Hollis (Johnston) as he witnesses the end of the Big Band era and find out...
The Story: Hollis quits his job with a major big band orchestra when he sees it's not drawing the customers anymore. His musician buddy Corny LaSalle (Henry Slate) joins him out of frustration. They're on their way to New York when they see a small-town dance hall drawing hordes of teenagers. They're swinging like mad to the music of Bill Haley and His Comets (themselves). Hollis is impressed with their music and the moves of Lisa Johns (Gaye) and her brother Jimmy (Earl Barton) and offers to find them better venues.
Corinne Talbot (Talton) owns most of the major nightclubs and dance venues where the Comets can make their names. Corinne is more interested in getting Hollis to marry her. She sends the Comets to play at an ultra-conservative girls' school. That backfires when the girls and even some of the teachers end up loving their bright new sound. When she simply bans them from playing, Hollis calls in disc jockey Alan Freed (himself) to play at his venue. The response is so enthusiastic, they create a rock revue around the Comets and Freed's other acts. Corinne, however, still has one more trick up her satin sleeve...
The Song and Dance: And it's the song and dance that carry things here, along with a story that's played more for drama than the comic Beach Party movies. One thing I really like is how the movie treats its female characters. While her schemes ultimately don't amount to much, Corinne is a pretty tough cookie, maybe more than some of the guys. Lisa may be young, but she's no pushover, either. She's the one who ultimately thinks of the way around Corinne's attempts to control them in the end.
I also love seeing Freed's pioneering integration of black and white rock acts together carrying over here. The Platters share the stage with the Comets and Martinez and his band with no complaints or comments. Johnston does far better as a manager looking for a new sound than he did as a love interest for Esther Williams in her vehicle This Time for Keeps.
Favorite Number: Our first real number isn't until nearly 10 minutes in, but it's the teens of Strawberry Springs going to town with the title song at the dance. They also get down to a signature early rock hit, "See You Later Alligator," while Lisa and Jimmy show their stuff to "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie." Martinez and his band give us the spicy Latin side of rock at Corinne's club with "Curero," "Mambo Capri," and "Solo Y Triste (Sad and Lonely)." The Comets take over the girl's school prom with their "Razzle Dazzle," while vocal group Freddie Bell and the Bellboys "Teach You How to Rock" and Martinez returns with "Bacalao Con Papa (Codfish and Potatoes)."
The Platters give us the classier side of rock with one of their biggest hits, the gorgeous ballad "Only You." Haley auditions for Freed with the wild rhythmic anthem "R.O.C.K," which gives Lisa and Jimmy a looser rehearsal showcase. The movie ends at the "Rock Jubilee," with the Platters singing their other major hit "The Great Pretender," Bell and his guys getting into "Giddy Up a Ding Dong," and Haley and his boys finishing with "Rudy's Rock."
Trivia: Several members of the Comets left the group and were replaced before filming began. The only song where the performers heard singing are the same as the ones onscreen is "See You Later, Alligator," which was recorded right before the film.
The first full-length musical to have a full-on rock score.
Teens got so into the movie and the music, there were riots in many parts of the globe when it was screened, including Norway, England, and the US.
What I Don't Like: Obviously, if you don't like early rock or the groups involved, you're not going to be into this. The story, while harder-edged than the teen films of the 60's, is still piffle meant to bridge the gap between numbers. None of the groups are particularly good actors, including Haley and the Comets. The dialogue is stiff, Corinne's plot to sabotage Hollis is silly, the whole thing is cliches of the highest order.
The Big Finale: This wound up being a pleasant surprise. The first rock musical is a lot of fun, with some terrific music and amazing jive dancing. Highly recommended for huge fans of the early rock era or the bands in question.
Home Media: It's double-disc set with its follow-up Don't Knock the Rock is expensive nowadays. You're better off streaming this one or picking it up on that Mill Creek Musicals 20 Collection.
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