Rock Rock Rock!

Moviecut—Rock Rock Rock!

The generation which made the music featured in Rock Rock Rock is now starting to live on its Social Security and IRAs and a considerable number of them spend a lot of money going to nostalgia concerts where some of the groups you see performing here are still performing for the audience who remembered them when. In fact its the music that makes the film endurable. It sure isn't the acting, the players perform on a par with some of the junior high school plays I remember. In fact it would have gotten from me a few more stars had the producers just dispensed with imbecilic plot and just presented a rock and roll revue hosted by Alan Freed. Tuesday Weld made her screen debut in this and it's a miracle that the woman went on to a fine career and some great acting roles after she was through being a teenage sex kitten. The plot such as it is has Weld trying to con her friends and parents out of enough money to get a dress for her prom. Her leading man in the film is Teddy Randazzo, lead singer with The Chuckles who was a fine singer and an even better songwriter later on. But as an actor he was horrible. He never had the direction that teen idols like Fabian and Frankie Avalon appearing in some major films with some big industry names. Maybe if he had it might have worked better for him for the big screen. But my guess is that he was happy with the direction his career went. Like Tuesday, he must have winced when seeing Rock Rock Rock.

If you love rock and roll music then give this one a break. Most of the songs are totally out of sync which is fairly amusing and the story is boy loves girl then blah but what do you expect. There is wonderful music and a lot of the film is devoted to it. Some great dresses too. Tuesday Weld is cute and radiant and innocent and smacks of those childhood dreams that were killed by cynicism and growing old. Its a true fantasy trip that you can let yourself go with a bottle of something tasty. Beautiful scripts that make you feel warm inside. If you want an intellectual film them forget it but if you wan a laugh and a dance then this is your girlie wine drinking evening. It got me dancing in the living room. Love it.

It's no secret that singer Connie Francis provided the singing voice for Tuesday Weld in the movie, Rock Rock Rock. The songs she sang, "I Never Had A Sweetheart" and "Little Blue Wren", were released by Connie shortly before she finally made a name for herself in 1957 with "Who's Sorry Now". Also prior to that success, Connie's voice could be heard providing the singing voice for Freda Holloway in the 1957 movie, Jamboree. Her co-star, Paul Carr, did his own singing, and even went so far as to have two of the songs released on the Chancellor label (#1007). The song, "If Not For You" was a solo by Paul, while "Who Are We To Say" was a duet with Connie's vocal in the movie. However, on the record, the vocal was done by another singer, Fran Lori. Back to Tuesday... It wasn't until the Fall of 1962 that Tuesday finally proved that she could sing on her own. Or at least she tried. The newly turned 19 year old recorded two sides for the Plaza label (#508) out of Hollywood, California. One side, "Are You The Boy", was a nice mildly uptempo number common to the girl sounds of the day. The flip side, "All Through Spring And Summer" was a mellow, almost Country-fied tune, offering listeners a more true account of just how well Tuesday could sing. Fred Clemens

... and typically, it looks like it was shot with a home-movie camera. It's the usual 1950s hoo-hah about "misunderstood youths" who only find "acceptance" and "true understanding" under the oh-so-benevolent mid-Fifties rock-and-roll promoters ... three years before their cover was blown in the Payola scandals. In retrospect, however, with what we now know about the recording industry at that time, this film has historical value. You'll gather some insight into the values of the era, and a form of music - doo-wop - that has completely vanished. (So much for "rock and roll will never die", right?) One act, though - the quartet Cirino and the Bowties - is terrific, and easily the equivalent of their contemporaries the Preps, Freshmen, Aces, Lettermen and Lads. One wonders why their popularity was so brief. I hope it wasn't because of their exposure in this film, though they do elevate the goings-on during their on-screen moments with their wonderful and memorable "Ever Since I Can Remember". One star.

This film is absolutely fantastic. The vocal group harmony is terrific and the selection of artists cannot be beat. The haunting most, beautiful "I Knew From the Start" by the Moonglows was sung with clear perfection. Frankie and the Teenagers had our toes tapping to "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent". The Flamingoes were hitting those perfect notes with "Would I Be Crying". Vocal group harmony such as this is essential in a great movie. A movie of such greatness is far and few between. The greatest vocal group harmony movie is "Rockin the Blues" from 1955 featuring the Hurricanes, the Harptones, and the Wanderers. Check it out if you get a chance.

"Rock Rock Rock" (1956): Alan Freed was to Rock and Roll movies what Ed Wood was to sci fi: an idiot. But, I side with Wood - at least he did it for the "love". Freed was creating a market and nothing more. He was the P.T. Barnum of Pop music. Shoving known and unknown singers and other musicians in front of a camera – many for the very first time, expecting them to dub a tune – many for the first time, and expecting them to have any sort of stage presence, gave everyone the results they deserved. If these films weren't so painfully staged, they could hold up as Rock and Roll documents. As they are, they are laughable, pathetic, embarrassing collections of awkward, amateurish kids who are being scooped up, wagered upon, and thrown away by music industry investors. NONE THE LESS, if you're a fan of movies, this one is so transparent it's entertaining. Watch Alan Freed sell himself with his wide eyed, crap-eating grin as he pretends to be a band leader, or introduce the next act; watch the premier of Tuesday Weld – so young she's still a gawky teen - not the beauty of later years - as she dubs songs in the voice of Connie Francis (!); watch countless singers and groups who are getting their one shot – and were never heard from again; watch Frankie Lymon lead "his" Teenagers through a couple of their actual hits with slick professional behavior (corny as it was, the entire film is worth their performance of "I'm not a Juvenile Delinquent")… but keep in mind he was 13 years old, in 2 years would be a heroin addict, and 10 years later would be dead of an overdose; watch La Vern Baker do the dumbest song of all time ("Tra La La"); watch Chuck Berry stand on stage like a funky puppet performing "You Can't Catch Me"; watch many others make fools of themselves; and remember that only a year later, Freed would be busted for DJ payola, lose everything, and drink himself to death by the age of 32. There is some good décor detailing, incredibly lame dialog, numb-skulled plot devices, awful acting, and primitive editing… yet, I'm already in the mood to watch it again. I must have a mental problem... like those jerks who tie up traffic by slowing down and rubber-necking a car wreck

This movie is only worth seeing for the contrived performances of LaVerne Baker, Chubby Checker, and other early rock 'n' roll stars. Otherwise it is a colorless black 'n' white washout . . .

The reason to see "Rock, Rock, Rock," like most 50s quickie rock 'n' roll pictures, is, of course, to see great stars like Chuck Berry, Lavern Baker, The Moonglows and The Flamingos. You also get a fair amount of dreck like Cirino and the Bowties and the insufferable Ivy Schulman. Plus, this picture obviously had a budget lower than the cost of a car. (You can tell that some shots look out of sync.) Then, there's Tuesday Weld with her songs dubbed (not too well) by Connie Francis! Still, the picture is fun and early rock 'n' roll DJ impressario Alan Freed looks like he's having a good time. Of course, it wouldn't last.

If you're a fan of the early days of Rock and Roll, then this is a must see. Rock Rock Rock has one of the best line ups of early rock talent seen in these types of films. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers do two numbers as do The Moonglows. Also on hand are rare film appearances by The Flamingos and LaVerne Baker. Rock Rock Rock also contains the only film performance by the great rockabilly group, The Johnny Burnette Trio. Singer-songwriter-producer Teddy Randazzo does several songs with The Three Chuckles and is the male lead opposite Tuesday Weld (whose singing voice is over dubbed by a then unknown Connie Francis. The plot however, is unbelievably ridiculous (it centers around a prom dress!) and Tuedsay Weld plays an incredibly DUMB teenager (she thinks 1 percent of a dollar is one dollar). Alan Freed is great though, introducing the acts and you'll hear one of his top tenor sax specialists, Freddie Mitchell. Fast forward through the "story" and head for the musical numbers if you want, but don't miss this one if you love early Rock and Roll!