Rock Around the Clock (1956)

Waste of time

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The problem of the 50's Rock n Roll movies is that you have to suffer through so much pablum and propaganda to get to a few bona fide Rockers, R&B, and justified archival songs. This one has two songs from the Platters and two from Bill Haley. The rest is flatulent filler. Cringe inducing dialog and attempted hip talk from on and off screen squares. Unbearable performances from posers, wannabes, and opportunists. Historians and fans should be grateful for the 10 minutes of irreplaceable, iconic and cool footage. The other 70 minutes are the corporate trappings only fit for the completest and the masochistic.Some good jitterbugging from some professional teen-agers add some eye-candy but for the most part and this goes for all these types of films from the era, the movie studios and the adults just didn't get it and one doubts if they tried at all, except as a marketing mechanism.

The movie's a good chance to catch R&R's anthem—Rock Around the Clock—done classic style by Bill Haley & His Comets. It's also a chance to catch the classic stylings of The Platters doing two of their biggest hits. Otherwise, the film's pretty forgettable. There's a rough backstory to connect the musical spots, which may also offer some insight into the industry, circa 1955. Otherwise the story is standard romantic stuff. The movie's release date indicates that brief period between R&R's inception and Elvis's meteoric rise, and so is unusual in that regard. One question—why the recurring dance act (Gaye & Barton)? They're good lively dancers, but didn't the producers think the new beat was enough. Anyway, to my knowledge, this was the first R&R movie, and a good opportunity to view the style in its pre-Elvis period.

After its inclusion in the hit film The Blackboard Jungle, the song "Rock Around the Clock" was such a smash hit that B-movie producer Sam Katzman decided to make a movie with that title and have the single's act, Bill Haley and the Comets, perform that one, "See You Later, Alligator" and a few others here. He also booked Freddie Bell and His Bellboys and The Platters for additional appeal. I wonder if this was the only time the latter group performed their hits, "Only You" and "The Great Pretender" for the big screen. It's mainly for what I cited above as well as being the first time that this was a picture that showcased Rock 'n' Roll nearly in its entirety that would give it interest today. Otherwise, it's just a mostly bland plot about a manager trying to give Haley and his combo their big break with complications like his former female manager girlfriend vs. his current one in teenage dancer Lisa Gaye. (Seeing him and Lisa suddenly kiss after just meeting gave me the creeps!) Also, the guy who coined the new music sound's name, Alan Freed, does his introductions when the acts come on. So on that note, Rock Around the Clock is well worth a look. Oh, and unlike the end of The Blackboard Jungle, when the title song here ended the movie, there was no Big Band flourish to finish it. P.S. While the one other musical act, Tony Martinez and His Band are good too, it's obvious that-as the plot implied-they have a different appeal, possibly to the potential "squares" in the audience. And one of the Platters-Paul Robi-was born in New Orleans which is a two hour drive from my current home town of Baton Rouge.

Journeyman director Fred Sears (also an actor in many films--I remember him from Charles Starrett westerns) was a good choice to direct this low-budget Sam Katzman-produced quickie, meant to cash in on the rock'n'roll fad and the celebrity of Bill Haley and His Comets. Sears gets right down to business and features the music throughout--with wonderful (mostly) mimed performances by Bill Haley of his classic early Decca recordings, which still rock out today. Also seen are the pioneering lounge-rocknroll band Freddie Bell and His Bellboys, who were fine entertainers in the Louis Prima vein and who provided Elvis with Hound Dog. A plot is woven into the film here and there to keep things moving, but the emphasis is on the music. Haley's friendly persona comes across well in his limited dialogue scenes, and the other characters in his band, such as sax player Rudy Pompilli, are quite animated, capturing a bit of what his live shows must have been like (probably much wilder than this film). Alan Freed also appears and is worked into the plot, and the Platters sing their two biggest hits. All together, it's an excellent time capsule into the early days of rock'n'roll, and it's a wonderful showcase for the great Bill Haley, who still has not received his due as a music pioneer. It's easy to see why the film caused riots when shown overseas. Don't miss it if you like Haley, Freed, and the glory days of rocknroll.