Carnival Rock (1957)

Christy runs a rock and roll nightclub on a carnival pier with his righ-hand-man Benny. Christy has a crush on the club's star, Natalie Cook, but she has eyes for Stanley, a local business ... See full summary »

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Leo Lieberman (story)

Stars:

Susan Cabot, Brian G. Hutton, David J. Stewart

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Susan Cabot	...	Natalie Cook
Brian G. Hutton	...	Stanley (as Brian Hutton)
David J. Stewart	...	Christopher 'Christy' Cristakos
Dick Miller	...	Benny
Iris Adrian	...	Celia
Jonathan Haze	...	Max
Ed Nelson	...	Cannon
Bruno VeSota	...	Mr. Kirsch
Chris Alcaide	...	Slug
Frankie Ray	...	Billy
Dorothy Neumann	...	Clara
Horace Logan	...	Master of Ceremonies
Yvonne Peattie	...	Henry's Mother
The Platters	...	The Platters
David Houston	...	Himself - Singer

Storyline

Christy runs a rock and roll nightclub on a carnival pier with his righ-hand-man Benny. Christy has a crush on the club's star, Natalie Cook, but she has eyes for Stanley, a local business man, who wants to buy out the club. When the club is sold and Christy is asked to stay on, as a party clown, he plots to destroy the club and abduct Natalie away from Stanley.

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Plot Keywords:

nightclub | exploitation | teen | master of ceremony

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Taglines:

NO! Don't Touch Me! (original one-sheet poster)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Carnaval rock

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roger Corman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

The band listed as The Shadows - backing Bob Luman - are not the famous British instrumental group.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970) (2000)

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Soundtracks

"This Is the Night"
Performed by Bob Luman

User Reviews

Different padding, same director

Yes, Roger Corman made the original Little Shop of Horrors. But he also made such losers as The Undead; The Day the World Ended; The Beast with a Million Eyes; It Conquered the World; and Teenage Caveman. In those movies, Corman used his trademark padding technique -- lots of walking. The only difference is that here he pads his movie with singing. Different padding, same director, same horrifying results.

Rock tells the story of a Greek carnival show owner named "Christy" who is deeply in love with Natalie. This would be a nice story except for one thing: it's an imagined May - September romance on Christy's part and Natalie has the hots for another. In fact, Christy ends up being unlucky at love and at cards. Christy portrays a happy-go-lucky attitude even when creditors threaten to take his club away. However, this attitude gives him a sense of delusion that prevents him from seeing things as they really are.

The Platters make a cameo in this film, but this is essentially a love story with rockabilly music well packed in throughout. Strangely, Natalie starts out singing Mel Torme-like songs after the viewer is subjected to these Jerry Lee Lewis-wannabes. The music is passable, but Natalie's bouncing neck can make you seasick.

One definite highlight is Mamie Van Doren's appearance on the 1987 video release of this movie. She still looks good.

Sterno says ignore the carnies sit in for a set.