Rock Baby – Rock It (1957)

Rock Baby – Rock It Film Details

Overview: Local Dallas teenagers resist attempts by shady underworld types to take over their beloved rock ‘n’ roll club. This rock ‘n’ roll-themed movie features top-notch rockabilly performances by…

Tagline: A sizzling story of hot rock as you’ve never seen it before!

Review: Undoubtedly one of the chintziest and hence most authentically grubby of the numerous cheap rocksploitation churned out in mass volume in the 50’s, this Dallas, Texas marvel thrillingly captures the sweetly ingenuous bring-the-house-down rumbling excitement rock possessed when it first came into being. Technically, it’s a ratty shambles, with ragged editing, scroungy photography, primitive fade-outs, lovably dated hep-cat lingo (“You’re the most”), and hopelessly stiff acting. However, the sincerity and eagerness evident throughout make the pic’s shoddiness both forgivable and ultimately strangely endearing. In fact, the rough ramshackle quality of the film-making actually lends a certain grungy quasi-documentary verisimilitude to the divinely naive and dippy proceedings. As usual, the story is really threadbare, a faint whiff of a plot that solely exists as a flimsy excuse to show off plenty of hot local rock’n’roll acts. This time a bunch of ugly, tubby, nefarious middle-aged square mobsters threaten to take over a hoppin’ Lone Star state teen nightspot, so the smart and resourceful kids hold an impromptu charity rock benefit concert to raise enough bread to save their beloved hangout from the greasy gangsters’ vile clutches. And, boy oh boy, does said concert deliver the tasty and eclectic a little bit of everything multi-genre music goods. The Cellblock Seven sweep up the floor with a few just swell and stirring bebop jazz swing tunes. The exquisitely dulcet Belew Twins vault straight for the heavens with their sharp, keen, downright otherworldly harmonizing. The Five Stars display lots of style and charm with their delicious serving of right-on doo-wop nirvana. Preacher Smith and the Deacans lay down some slow, funky-stompin’ boogie woogie barn burners. Don Coats and the Bon-Aires set hearts aflutter with their gorgeously dreamy, swooning and romantic white guy pop crooning. Roscoe Gordon and the Red Tops rock it up something nice with their supremely wailin’, yet still beautifully forlorn and lonesome blues moping. All these bands seriously smoke, but the cat who clearly makes off with the whole stupendously hip’n’happening show is 19-year-old rockabilly firecracker Ron “Hot Rocks” Carroll, a dynamic spark-plug whose wild gyrations and scorching stage presence damn nearly make Elvis seem like small potatoes. And speaking of the Big E, Kay Wheeler, the founder and president of the Elvis Presley fan club, puts in a simply dazzling cameo appearance, energetically cuttin’ it up on stage like nobody’s business. All in all, this crudely slapped together item sizes up as the lively, exuberant, rockin’ all through the night delightful living end, daddy-o!

Country: USA

Language: English

Duration: 84 min

Genre: Crime, Musical

Also known as: Rock Baby – Rock It