Postwar malaise and ennui -

[therealfuster]

 

creates fertile grounds for the birth of anarchy in art....like rock and roll, and TCM shares one of the best films of the r'n'r generation period, with "Go, Johnny, Go" scheduled for this Sunday, June 5th at 10:30pm.

 

A subgenre to musicals in general, all to itself are the specialized films which fostered the rock and roll movement worldwide and capitalized on them. Many of the films have the real revolutionary rock and rollers of the two most impressive decades, but some 1950's and 1960's films were watered down versions of the real form of expression, much like white cover records by Pat Boone type singers, were little like the Little Richard or doo-**** groups and their original recordings.

 

"Go, Johnny, Go" stars Alan Freed, the dean of rock disc jockeys and the original Moondog Matinee man [as honored in title by one of the best albums by The Band] as...himself, in search of new talent. Freed, as most here probably know, was the man who played what were known as race records in Cleveland, to a primarily white audience of teens and young adults, eager to escape the Hit Parade of their parents. This film released in 1959, after the first wave of such films was over, has some of the heavyweights of the movement, in Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran [the guy singing on the tv in "The Girl Can't Help It" and the hero of both the Who and Rod Stewart, who died young in a taxi accident while on tour in England with Gene Vincent] Jackie Wilson, the Flamingos, the Cadillacs, Harvey Fuqua and the only screen appearance of a young Richie Valens. If he looks little like Lou Diamond Phillips, don't be dismayed, because his presentation is still revelatory and he presaged the Tex-Mex, and Hispanic music coterie by decades.

 

This film also stars pop idol Jimmy Clanton ["Venus in Blue Jeans"] and perky songster Jo Ann Campbell, but they are fortunately surrounded by the real rock icons of the period, to dispel the saccharine aftertaste. Though Freed is no actor, it still is interesting to see the true man behind the image, and the fellow who was taken down by the Payola scandals of the 1950's, instead of others like Dick Clark, because he represented the real rock music of the airwaves, and not the prefabricated kind that was beginning to proliferate by the late 1950's. Though he was guilty of Payola practices [as were many who got off free and clear] and was later blacklisted... some music historians see him as the whipping boy and sacrificial victim, of political forces and an industry out to stop the music. None of that backstory should ruin your enjoyment of the great performances in this film, and though the acting in between segments is mostly laughable, just wait for the musical performances to be rewarded. There lies the energy of the rock and roll movement.

 

Though there were stirrings of a musical revolution apparent in other films of the early Fifties regarding the rock and roll phenomenon, the first inkling was to be found in "The Blackboard Jungle" even though Bill Haley was more a country performer, to begin with...yet his anthem "Rock Around the Clock" was heard round the world. The next sign of impending doom for people like Snooky Lanson and Dorothy Collins, was when the Queen asked to see the Sam Katzman film, "Rock Around the Clock" in 1956, instead of the planned movie, "The Caine Mutiny". Other early classics in this new wave were "Don't Knock the Rock", "Rock Pretty Baby" and "The Girl Can't Help It" which was an impressively conceived concoction from Frank Tashlin, starring Jayne Mansfield, Tom Ewell, and Edmond O'Brien, but the rock greats were not given short shrift, and were an integral part of the clever storyline. This film contains classic performances by Gene Vincent ["Be Bop a Lula"], Fats Domino ["Blue Monday"] Little Richard ["Ready Teddy"] and Eddie Cochran "Twenty Flight Rock"] plus even has songbird Julie London in a bit, just for the adults in the audience.

 

Elvis films being a thing unto themself, they proliferated during this time, starting with his films with bonafide hit songs, to later soundtracks which bore little resemblance to the musical rock genre which had begun the decade, and were typical drive-in fare. By the time "High School Confidential" came out in 1958, the genre had almost reached its zenith, but the appearance of Jerry Lee Lewis singing on a flatbed truck remains iconic, even though the film about narcs infiltrating a high school dope ring has now become cliched. But watching Russ Tamblyn pretending to be a high school student, living with his "aunt" Mamie Van Doren, and getting to see John Drew Barrymore and a sleazy Jackie Coogan make it worth the price of admission.

 

By the time the Twist arrived on the scene in 1960, the rock and roll genre had been eroded almost beyond belief. It took the British Invasion groups like the Beatles, the Stones, the Animals, the Yardbirds and the Mersey and Birmingham sound to revitalize the music. Britain had its own spate of rock influenced youth films, like "Expresso Bongo" and "It's Trad Dad" but the American music was only brought back to the USA, in the unadulterated versions of the early music admired by young British fans, who sought import records from their heroes. American performers like Buddy Holly, Berry, Little Richard and Eddie Cochran, were idolized overseas, but had been replaced in the States with plastic people promoted on American Bandstand like Fabian, and Edd Byrnes of "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb" fame. Both are fine actors but have little musical talent or connections to rock music though their widely marketed music sold millions. Nevertheless even during this period described well by Don McLean in the "Day the Music Died" there was still the occasional foray into rock inventiveness , even in movies like the lighthearted "Beach Party" which did feature the sounds of the great Dick Dale and the Del-Tones.

 

With the dawn of the day of films like "A Hard Day's Night", "Help", and "Catch Us If You Can" and the appearance of the Yardbirds with both Jimmy Page AND Jeff Beck appearing in a crucial part of the film, "Blow-Up", the harmony of shared music between America and Britain had come full circle, and opened up a period in films with the rock soundtrack being dominant, with films like Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point" being more sought after for its soundtrack with Pink Floyd, and for the obligatory concert films, like "Woodstock" and "Monterey Pop". But all things must pass, and by the time of the Altamount concert, called "Gimme Shelter" the flower child generation on film came to a screeching halt, with the deadly force used by Hell's Angels caught on camera trying to intimidate the crowd, and Jagger a mere puppet on stage to their games.

 

With a few dying gasps like the "Concert for Bangladesh" the rock movie genre took on a political, and sometimes less self indulgent stance, but the time of anarchic rock on film seemed to be passing into the mist. Occasionally there were slight revivals of the form, as in "Let the Good Times Roll" but most were embarrassing exercises in nostalgia.

 

Some of the best rock and roll related, or rock performance films to look for, besides the above mentioned, are in my opinion:

 

Alice's Restaurant, Bird on a Wire, Bunny Lake is Missing, Catch My Soul, Celebration at Big Sur, Cream's Last Concert, Don't Look Back, The T.A.M.I. Show, Harlem Rock'n'Roll, Jailhouse Rock, Jamboree, Jimi Plays Berkeley, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Medicine Ball Caravan, O Lucky Man!, Performance, Rock and Roll Circus, Sympathy for the Devil, That'll Be That Day, Tommy, Two Lane Blacktop, Wattstax, Zacariah, and 200 Motels.

 

What are your favorite rock and roll films from its heyday, of 1955 through the middle 1970's and up to the present, and which films would you appreciate TCM showing on their schedule in the future?

 

[brackenhe]

I'm a huge fan of the Beach Party movies released by American International Pictures. Not only did it feature Dick Dale, Stevie Wonder was in at least one as was James Brown (he was in Ski Party.) Those movies were a big part of my early movie going experience. I've also seen a lot of the movies you've listed, especially when I was in college. Woodstock was HUGE then. Monterrey Pop Festival which feature Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin was great. I'm also a big Beatles fan so I particularly love Hard Days Night & Help.

[therealfuster]

Which Beach Party film had Stevie singing "Fingertips, Part 2"?

 

I remember this scene with him and his harmonica, and he was so young he was still called Little Stevie Wonder as I recall, and he was doing his first big hit. I know the Little moniker is not about age or size, but just an endearment in some musical communities, but Stevie did seem still wet behind the ears.

 

 

Yes, those American International films were great and some were on the street, not long after things that had inspired them...like riots on LA strips et cetera.

 

I really think the Beatles' film, "AHDN" is way above what usually passed for a rock movie in those days, and set the bar high for future films, which never transpired mostly since the genre was nearing its end.

 

I watched "Go, Johnny Go" even though I have it on tape. I was enjoying seeing Eddie Cochran, and was reminded of how Brian Setzer from the Stray Cats totally stole his look and amplified it, with the blond pompadour, and I also enjoyed seeing Richie Valens, who seemed like a down to earth young fellow.

 

I thought that Robert might be a big fan of the rock acts in the film and was telling my guests that, when I listened to his nice intro, till he came back afterwards and called Richie Valens' song, "Oh My Head" instead of "Ooh My Head", and then I had to recant. It may have just been a slip of the tongue though.

 

I also watched "Coal Miner's Daughter" and was again amazed at how good Levon Helm from The Band was, as her father. The singing by Sissy and Beverly DeAngelo recreating the hits by Lynn and Patsy Cline was amazing. I had forgotten how letter perfect they both were in their parts.

 

Another great nite of viewing at TCM!

[fssbdgtsue59]

Hi People! Would you believe my first notable movie experience was "The King and I" way long time ago when it first came out. My parents dumped us kids into the ole station wagon and off we went to the drive in to see it. I remember that one and "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness." Guess that dates me--oh well......

[therealfuster]

You'd probably enjoy a documentary I saw recently on PBS, which was all about the history of the Drive-In in America.

 

It was chockful of info on where they had first started, the heyday of the outdoor theatres, the types of films that played there, how they attracted parents who would bring their kiddies in pajamas, the sound speaker systems and the sometimes inefficient heaters, how they came to be called Passion Pits, and they even interviewed actors whose films had played in drive-ins like the wonderful Beverly Garland and Robert Fuller. They had segments on how drive-ins made money on their food, and showed all the kinds that were famous, like corn dogs, popcorn et cetera, even though those "Come on into the lobby" clips made the food look anemic.

 

I hope PBS shows it again, and if you want to see it I think it was just called "Drive-In".

 

Thanks for your thoughts, and "The King and I" seems way classier than most films that are typical drive-in fare.

[brackenhe]

fuster--I can't remember how old you are but back in the 50's & 60's a lot of A pictures played at the drive ins in small towns where there were no walk in theaters. BTW I've seen that Drive In special before and it's nostalgic. There aren't many drive ins left.