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Rock Around the Clock More at IMDbPro »

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22 reviews in total

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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
A Pleasant Surprise!, 6 July 2000

Author: TonyG-7 from United States

Caught this on TV recently for the first time since 1956 when, as a 12 year old, I saw it at least twice that I remember. I was a huge Bill Haley fan there at the dawning of the age of Rock & Roll and thoroughly enjoyed this cheaply made little movie. When I started watching the other night, I wasn't expecting much and figured I'd just leave it on for awhile to hear some of that music. Well, I wound up watching the whole thing. Is it dated? Yep! Is it corny? Oh, you bet! Did I love it? More than ever! Bill Haley was quite believable as himself although seemingly just a bit embarrassed and the music was awesome. I had forgotten just how well the Comets could play their instruments within those three wonderful chords. I would recommend this to anyone who lived through the era. Go back and visit your roots. This movie Rocks!!

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
the original rock'n'roll feature film--great showcase for Bill Haley and His Comets, 3 November 2004

Author: django-1 from south Texas USA

Journeyman director Fred Sears (also an actor in many films--I remember him from Charles Starrett westerns) was a good choice to direct this low-budget Sam Katzman-produced quickie, meant to cash in on the rock'n'roll fad and the celebrity of Bill Haley and His Comets. Sears gets right down to business and features the music throughout--with wonderful (mostly) mimed performances by Bill Haley of his classic early Decca recordings, which still rock out today. Also seen are the pioneering lounge-rocknroll band Freddie Bell and His Bellboys, who were fine entertainers in the Louis Prima vein and who provided Elvis with Hound Dog. A plot is woven into the film here and there to keep things moving, but the emphasis is on the music. Haley's friendly persona comes across well in his limited dialogue scenes, and the other characters in his band, such as sax player Rudy Pompilli, are quite animated, capturing a bit of what his live shows must have been like (probably much wilder than this film). Alan Freed also appears and is worked into the plot, and the Platters sing their two biggest hits. All together, it's an excellent time capsule into the early days of rock'n'roll, and it's a wonderful showcase for the great Bill Haley, who still has not received his due as a music pioneer. It's easy to see why the film caused riots when shown overseas. Don't miss it if you like Haley, Freed, and the glory days of rocknroll.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Fans of early rock and roll will like this one!, 19 February 2003

Author: unclerussie from Orlando, Florida

Ok, ok...so most of these movies were produced by guys too old and too square to dig the big beat. Stll, these films give is a good retrospective into the early days of rock and roll. Johnny Johnston give a fine performance as manager Steve Hollis, a guy looking for a new sound. He's come to the right place! Bill Haley and His Comets, performing in a small town dance hall, set him straight. The Platters, Freddie Bell and the Bellboys and Alan Freed also make appearances and Lisa Gaye is every guys idea of someone they'd like getting caught with in the back of a 53 Hudson. Only one question: how did Tony Martinez get in this picture? His latino selections are definitely out of place, but don't pass up this flick because of that. You'll enjoy Rock around the clock again and again.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
musically-historical fun, 29 December 2006

Author: Peter Swanson (bumwuh@yahoo.com) from United States

It ain't great cinema, folks, but it IS fun. It's also a great reminder of the roots of rock- and-roll (old-fashioned hyphenated spelling intentional), and how far that musical genre has developed in the last (choke) 50 years.

I was only 9 when this film was released, and had never seen it until today (thanks, Turner Classics). Bill Hailey was certainly no Eric Clapton on the guitar, but was definitely a showman...in what would now be considered a cornball sort of way. The whole film is a good display of the fact that choreographing singers' movements didn't start with Madonnna. It also shows modern viewers that the Platters could REALLY sing!

Another thing I really enjoyed was the dancing in this movie. Lisa Gaye and Earl Barton could move! About an hour and 15 minutes into the film (which is only about 1:20 long) there's a number which shows them off well, during which they're joined by a couple of dozen other excellent dancers. It's a fun way to end the film.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
A fictional story about the emergence of Rock & Roll onto the teenage U.S. musical scene., 29 December 2006

Author: westfall-d from Kelseyville, California, USA

What fun to come upon this 1950s gem on cable TV today! At first I thought I was seeing Debra Paget, but it turned out to be her sister, Lisa Gaye, who played a prominent role in this film and demonstrated real dancing skill. This movie is so special, not only because it showcases rock & roll's important early performers, but also its place in musical time -- right at the pop music transition from the big bands to the much smaller combos. In fact, the term "combo" was apparently not in popular use yet. In the film, these small rock & roll bands are referred to as "combinations" of musicians. And the dancing was a joy to watch! Influences from the Big Band era were still strong as couples did variations of swing and jitterbug with the brand new additions of non-touch formula steps that later led to the Twist, the Mashed Potato and all the rest, right up to the present time when almost no one knows how to dance together as a couple. This film should be required viewing for anyone following the history of post-World War II popular music and the end of the big bands.

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7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
best rock 'n roll movie ever, 17 August 2005

Author: saraz298 from Canada

To really appreciate this film, you have to be a guy/gal who was into pop music when it first came out in 1954 or so---Bill Haley and the Comets were the first group to follow the early fifties sound of Frankie Laine, Johnny Ray, etc., that really had a "bounce" to their music---Elvis soon followed, along with Little Richard, Fats Domino and Pat Boone and the like. All of their hits up to then are in this movie, along with the Platters' two early million sellers. Why this movie is not out on DVD I'll never understand---if "The Girl Can't Help it" can make it to video, this one should----hope someone lights a fire under the powers that be who can make this popping' fifties hit available soon.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Silly but a time capsule of the 1950s, 12 January 2008

Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States

Promoter Steve Hollis (Johnny Johnston) is looking for a new act for teenage audiences. He comes upon Bill Haley and the Comets playing in a small town. They drive the teenagers wild and feature a brother/sister team (Earl Barton/Lisa Gaye) who do some incredible dancing to the music. He signs them up and immediately falls in love with Gaye (and vice versa). However the evil Miss Talbot (Alix Talton) loves Hollis herself. He spurns her so she sets out to to make sure that Haley, the Comets, Gaye and Barton can't get a job.

Really silly stuff with lousy dialogue chockful of 50s slang that just sounds ridiculous now. Everybody is so polite and nice to each other--even the "evil" schemes of Talbot are pretty mild. Also Johnston and Gaye fall in love in seconds! It's pretty creepy though--Johnston is easily old enough to be her father! None of this matters though. This shows Bill Hlaey and the Comets and the Platters performing and that alone makes this a valuable time capsule of the 1950s when rock and roll was starting to get popular. The groups ARE lip syncing to their songs (and pretty badly in the case of The Platters) but still... When the Platters sang "Only You" and "The Great pretender" this movie is just magic. The acting is pretty terrible (Bill Haley especially) but the songs are good, the movie is short and the dance routines between Barton and Gaye are really pretty impressive. Hard to believe that this was banned in some cities in the US when it first came out. In other cases some theatre owners told the projectionist to cut the sound when the music numbers came on! Check out the ending which says "The Living End"! Harmless and kind of fun. I give it a 6.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Rock Around the Clock (1956) **1/2, 30 January 2007

Author: JoeKarlosi from U.S.A.

Though it wasn't the first film to mention "rock and roll," this is known as the "first real rock film" and it's a mixed bag. Basically it's a vehicle for rock and roll pioneer Bill Haley and his band, The Comets. In the very thin story, two square music managers realize that their old type of traditional dance music is dying out in favor of the latest "rock 'n' roll" fad. When they see Haley and the Comets perform their classic "See You Later Alligator" at a small town dance and witness all the kids dancing up a storm, they decide to try and get this group to play full-time and make it big.

The film's not very interesting when it veers away from the music, but along the way we get several more Bill Haley songs (the famous title hit itself, plus "Razzle Dazzle," "Rock Rock Rock" and others), and we're also treated to The Bellboys. But the main attraction is easily The Platters, who expertly perform two of their big hits - "Only You" and "The Great Pretender". The latter is so fabulous it sends chills up the spine.

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6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
The emergence of rock 'n' roll., 3 July 2000

Author: Michael O'Keefe from Muskogee OK

A lively, but not a factual description of the birth of rock 'n' roll. A couple of small time promoters break away from the big band way of life and stumble across a hot combo that packs a small dance hall.

Johnny Johnston, John Archer, Lisa Gaye and Alan Freed star. On screen musical performances by Bill Haley and his Comets, Freddie Bell and the Bellboys and the Platters make this one of the first feature films that concerns the beginnings of rock 'n' roll.

Enjoyable and fun to revisit. This has earned a cult following status in Europe.

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7 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Very cool corn, 2 December 2001
Author: jjs402

If you cruise by this one while channel surfing, your first instinct might be that this a B-grade science fiction movie. The acting and the script are more wooden than the furniture, but stick with it -- it's a vintage rock and roll gas.

Ignore the corny, predictable plot. Stick with the music of the Comets and the Platters. This music is timeless rock and roll.

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