Rumble on the Docks (1956)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Fred F. Sears

Writers:

Jack DeWitt (writer)
Lou Morheim (writer)

Release Date:

December 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Out of Their Teens ... Into Big Time Crime!

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | Based On Novel

Cast

James Darren	...	Jimmy Smigelski
Laurie Carroll	...	Della
Michael Granger	...	Joe Brindo
Edgar Barrier	...	Pete Smigelski
David Bond	...	Dan Kevlin
Barry Froner	...	Poochie
Timothy Carey	...	Frank Mangus
Celia Lovsky	...	Anna Smigelski
Robert Blake	...	Chuck
Jerry Janger	...	Rocky
David Orrick McDearmon	...	Lawyer Gotham (as David Orrick)
Don Devlin	...	Wimpy
Robert C. Ross	...	Gil Danco
Dan Terranova	...	'Stomper' Tony Lightning
Freddie Bell	...	Himself, Freddie Bell (as Freddie Bell and His Bellboys)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Clover Productions

Trivia:

James Darren's first movie.

Fun if completely forgettable JD variant of "On the Waterfront"

"Rumble on the Docks" is the kind of film thats fun to watch but will probably be completely forgotten about afterwords. When I went to write the reviews of the films I'd watched in the last few days for this site, I'd almost forgotten to include this one on the list. Judging from the plot description (a young teenage gang member sets out to expose corruption on the waterfront after going along with it for a while), you can tell its not exactly the most original film. Its not worth paying money to track down a third generation copy off Ebay, but if it ever turns up on television, it may be worth a watch.

There were two reasons why this film appealed to me. The first one is I'm in love with anything to do with 50s culture, provided it came out in the time period (no thanks "Grease" and Brian Setzer). Their juvenile delinquency tales are outdated and amusingly melodramatic and misguided (youth rebellion has since been proved not to only result from bad parenting). Still, these flicks are cool. All the kids in this movie carry switchblades, grease back their hair, and dance to rockabilly music. Thats cool! Even the lesser films from the trend such as this one entertain me because I'm completely in love with this seemingly alien culture (the fifties ended many years before my birth). Secondly, my favorite actor Timothy Carey has a supporting role in this. Hes not nearly as memorable as he was in "The Killing" or "Poor White Trash", but his surly screen presence is a scene-stealer as usual. "Rumble on the Docks" isn't the best of the 50s juvenile schlock, but its an agreeable time killer. (5/10)