Dragstrip Riot

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.

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 ****

This is a film that must have seemed very hip and tough back in the day, but when you watch it now you can't help but giggle at all the macho posturing. It's a movie all about a rivalry between some spoiled rich kids whose parents bought them Corvettes and, later, some tough looking bikers. Rick Martin (Gary Clarke) has a beef with a fellow sports car enthusiast...and again and again they get into it. And, when Rick gets the better of them, this loser enlists the help of the bikers!

So what sort of music do this toughies listen to...Calypso music!! Believe it or not, for a VERY short time, there was a Calypso craze in America and these kids can really dig it! Heck, the craze was very short-lived but big--so big even Robert Mitchum made a Calypso album.

In addition to a get a chance to see some very early Corvettes, you also can see Fay Wray as Rick's mommy. You also get cute Connie Stevens as the girl that everyone just seems to want. But apart from that...I think it's all pretty dull stuff. The tough kids are not all that tough and the viewer quickly grows to hate them all...and that's the biggest problem. You have no emotional investment in this because there are no good guys...just spoiled, whiny little jerks. For a better biker film, try "Satan's Sadists" or "Werewolves on Wheels" (these are actual films...I kid you not)....because although cheesy and bad, at least they are fun.

There is no drag strip appearing in this movie, more of a race track, and lot of '57 Corvette does show up.

The kids appearing in this movie is supposed to be kind of delinquents, but they look very innocent by today's standards. This is days before drugs took over, and fighting is done with fists, not by guns. Scenes around Malibu, and California coast is definitely beautiful. Sometimes I wonder where the scene was shot because there's no houses around the highway. Can you believe that ? I kind of liked the characters in this movie. They wouldn't be delinquents if they lived now. They would be fine model of youth. Which kind of make you think, maybe the society is devolving instead of evolving.

Beautiful Southern California gave me lot of joy watching this movie. Story was decent, actors were good looking, and the movie had interesting scenes at every turn.

Recommended for viewing.

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.