The man who gave rock and roll its anthem Bill Haley and his group the Comets together with the man who was the first disc jockey promoting the new sound Alan Freed are the featured people in Rock Around The Clock, the title of Bill Haley's greatest hit. A year earlier it had made its debut in The Blackboard Jungle and now Bill was getting his own film with this title.
As an actor Haley was a great musician, but he's not called for any heavy thespian lifting here. He and featured dancers Lisa Gaye and Earl Barton are discovered by Johnny Johnston who is a music booking agent who has realized the era of the big bands is dead and he's a loose ends. Seeing this and other groups at a local dance makes him realize what the new trend in music is and he looks to hook up with the biggest booking agent around who is an old flame of his Alix Talton.
Talton has the most interesting role in the film. In a film with a bigger budget they would have gotten Eve Arden for the role. She gives the film whatever verve it has acting wise.
But it's the musical acts that the movie-going public was putting down its money to see. This must have been a big drive-in movie attraction back in 1956. The young folk could just get out of their cars and dance and probably not pay attention to whatever plot the film has.
Ironically the man who was searching for that new sound made his living with the old sound. Johnny Johnston was a much married singer who came up around the same time Frank Sinatra did, but with hardly as much success. He sings not a note in a film that marked the end of performers like him unless they had Sinatra like reputations.
For fans of the early rock and roll era and rock and roll certainly proved it was here to stay.
As an actor Haley was a great musician, but he's not called for any heavy thespian lifting here. He and featured dancers Lisa Gaye and Earl Barton are discovered by Johnny Johnston who is a music booking agent who has realized the era of the big bands is dead and he's a loose ends. Seeing this and other groups at a local dance makes him realize what the new trend in music is and he looks to hook up with the biggest booking agent around who is an old flame of his Alix Talton.
Talton has the most interesting role in the film. In a film with a bigger budget they would have gotten Eve Arden for the role. She gives the film whatever verve it has acting wise.
But it's the musical acts that the movie-going public was putting down its money to see. This must have been a big drive-in movie attraction back in 1956. The young folk could just get out of their cars and dance and probably not pay attention to whatever plot the film has.
Ironically the man who was searching for that new sound made his living with the old sound. Johnny Johnston was a much married singer who came up around the same time Frank Sinatra did, but with hardly as much success. He sings not a note in a film that marked the end of performers like him unless they had Sinatra like reputations.
For fans of the early rock and roll era and rock and roll certainly proved it was here to stay.