Dragstrip Riot

The teen pictures of the 50s are great fun, as anew genre finds it's way. This one, originally known rather optimistically as "Dragstrip Riot", contains the basic plot conflicts that would later be twisted into "Beach Party". The hero is the alarmingly blond Gary Clarke who hangs out with a cool group of beach kids, sipping sodas and spinning tunes on the jukebox. There turf is invaded by a pack of greasy motorbike riders and their molls, lead by menacing Steve Ihnat. They leads quickly to rumbles and car chases and tragic death, before a showdown on the beach sorts it out. Along the way, the story stops so perky Connie Stevens can do an elaborately choreographed musical number in the diner. It may not be realistic, but it's snappy.

This is an entertaining snapshot of Americana, in black and white and circa '58. This film supposedly was about "teen culture" in the US, yet within a short few years (and or course, during The Sixties!), things among American youth would look very different than this!

What a cast, with young hottie Connie Stevens at one end of the spectrum, and seasoned King Kong starlet Fay Wray at the other end! And, soon-to-be TV star regular Steve Inhat makes his screen debut here.

I take issue with, and correct, Moonspinner55, who claims Stevens "erased this title from her resume". She is alive and kicking, and lists this film clearly on her webpage:

Finally, I must brag that I know actor Barry Truex, who plays one of the motor bike tough guys here. He and I presently both are US expats residing in the Philippines, and I'm please to see and chat with Barry from time to time.

Relatively new in town, a teenager by the name of "Rick Martin" (Gary Clarke) has taken up drag-racing with some friends and has spent a lot of time getting ready for an upcoming race. Just prior to this race he also becomes romantically involved with a beautiful young lady named "Janet Pearson" (Yvonne Lime). What he doesn't know is that another guy within the same motorcycle club named "Bart Thorsen" (Bob Turnbull) also had eyes for Janet and is now extremely jealous of Rick. So when the leader of a local motorcycle gang gets into a fight with Rick over Janet, Bart decides to maliciously take advantage of this situation in order to get to Janet. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this 50's hot rod movie turned out to be better than I expected. The acting was solid enough and the plot contained one interesting scene after another which kept my attention throughout the movie. Likewise, it certainly didn't hurt to have several attractive young actresses like Connie Stevens (as "Marge") and the aforementioned Yvonne Lime. In short, while this certainly isn't a great movie by any means, I enjoyed it and as a result I rate it as slightly above average.

An almost-endearing product of its time, now notable mainly for the cars, the teen slang, and appearances by veteran Fay Wray and newcomer Connie Stevens (who quickly erased this title from her resume). After a rumble with bikers over at the local malt shop, clean-looking teen Gary Clarke, a sports car enthusiast with bleached blond hair, defies Mom and Gramps by entering a race down at the track. The suburban kids (boys with crew-cuts and tucked-in shirts, girls with ponytails and sweater-and-skirt combos) appear to dig calypso rock, dancing to the jukebox and making out under the stars in their convertibles; the motorcycle gang (unshaven boys with leather jackets and slicked black hair) are eager to spoil the fun. A.I.P. nonsense on a low-budget. It's like a pulp paperback in motion, or a cartoony version of "The Wild One". *1/2 from ****

Dragstrip Riot?

What dragstrip? As far as "racing" goes, there _was_ a sports car road race (with a lot of stock footage) and a "chicken race" vs. a train but absolutely nothing that came even close to drag racing.

This was a late '50s movie when rock 'n' roll was just getting started . . . and drive-in movies were still ubiquitous and popular (probably a third feature shown after midnight) . . . and they were probably trying to cash in on restless teenagers . . . but . . . this is junk.

It's not even one of those "so bad it's funny" movies . . . it is just bad. Don't waste your time.