Let's Rock

Before rock stars went on huge concert tours and before teenagers had enough disposable income to attend such spectacles, Hollywood tried to offer recording stars exposure through cheap movies. LET'S ROCK is typical of the genre--the central idea (that mellow crooner Julius LaRosa could become a rock star) is ludicrous and the acting by LaRosa and Phyllis Newman close to amateur standards. But there are a couple of hits--Danny and The Juniors doing "At the Hop" is the highlight. Every time LaRosa tries to sing, you might as well fast forward. "Rock Around the Clock" remains the best of a bad lot.

A very curious movie. Someone must have made LaRosa and Phyllis Newman an offer they couldn't refuse. Anyone familiar with Julius LaRosa or Phyllis Newman knows that neither was ever an exponent of Rock 'N' Roll, and despite this movie's ending, never did Julie or Phyllis experience such an "epiphany" in their own careers. Ironically, and despite this movie's premise of R&R supplanting MOR (middle-of-the-road) LaRosa's career continues to thrive to this day, long after the vast majority of the R&R artists of the time are either dead or forgotten (or both). The premise that the major labels had set about abandoning MOR artists in favor of R&R during this time is not true at all. In fact, it was 'payola', and the impending scandal over it, that had sustained R&R during this period, and which nearly resulted in R&R's demise upon its revelation, even as MOR artists such as Sinatra, Martin, Como, Doris Day, Peggy Lee, and many others, continued to thrive. It wasn't until the British Invasion of the mid-sixties, which coincided with the "Howdy Doody Generation"'s coming of age, that the major labels, and many radio stations, finally abandoned MOR, thus signaling the beginning of the long downward spiral in pop music culture that continues to this day.

Other reviewers have discussed the music in detail. I would only like to say that there is great swing dancing in this movie. Especially the couple in the center of the screen. Some of their moves were astounding. From today's viewpoint it is ironic that some of the best examples of swing dancing on film is in these late 1950's rock in roll movies. At that time, however, many people thought rock was a new version of swing. About four years later rock went off in another direction, eliminating the saxophone and partner dancing. This, of course, eventually led to a rebellion against rock from 1995 to the present by many people who like to dance with a partner.

For a number of reasons I was prepared to dislike this movie. But in fact I found it a pleasant diversion and at times even charming, especially the little "getting acquainted" stroll down New York streets. Crooner LaRosa steps into his acting role in surprisingly skillful fashion and in other circumstances might have had a successful lightweight career. But I don't think his early appeal ever really recovered from accusations that he had dodged service in the Korean War or from his highly publicized run-in with TV impresario Arthur Godfrey. Bubbly Phyllis Newman adds a lot of personality and charm. Too bad, in my little book, that she made a career on TV instead of in movies where that sparkle could have been spotlighted. Also, Conrad Janis makes an effective, smooth-talking show business agent and foil for LaRosa. In fact, I learned quite a bit about the business side of the old record industry from the intelligent, non-sappy screenplay.

To me, the musical acts are a matter of taste, but the revue does give later generations a chance to catch Danny & the Juniors' chart-topping rendition of "At the Hop", a true R&R classic. Yes indeed, R&R did pretty much replace ballads among teens and kill off popular TV shows like Your Hit Parade, a traditional Saturday evening staple. But it did revitalize a record industry clearly in need of new direction. Off hand, I can't recall a single popular ballad singer who made a successful transition to R&R, as LaRosa's character is trying to do here, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the movie remains an entertaining little window into a period when popular music was undergoing wrenchingly revolutionary change.

If I hadn't previously known about his radio on-air firing by show host Arthur Godfrey, I would never have heard of Julius LaRosa. Years ago, I saw him on an old kinescope of Godfrey's show and now I just watched him in what turned out to be his only movie appearance. As the title implies, it has some Rock music in it which his singer character is trying to avoid recording since he always made it with ballads, but as his manager Conrad Janis keeps telling him "Rock 'n' Roll is not going away" as LaRosa can't make it with ballads anymore. Phyllis Newman is an aspiring songwriter whose B-side he recorded and they have a nice initially platonic romance. There's also a fine number by Della Reese and a couple by Roy Hamilton. The Rock 'n' Roll acts presented here are Danny and the Juniors (who I just watched as their mature selves in the documentary Let the Good Times Roll) singing "At the Hop" and The Royal Teens' "Short Shorts". The last one is interesting to mention because one of the members as well as a co-songwriter of that song was one Bob Gaudio who'd later became a member of a more famous group called The Four Seasons as well as write some of that group's biggest hits. Oh, and a couple more interesting points to make: The host of a dance show in the movie is Wink Martindale who I knew as the host of the game show "Tic Tac Dough" back in the late '70s. And teen singing idol Paul Anka, who was sixteen when he made his film debut here, had a hit song after making this: "Diana" which started a string of his hits throughout the rest of the '50s and early '60s. So on that note, Let's Rock is worth a look for anyone interested in these vintage things.