Let the Good Times Roll (1973)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Robert Abel
Sidney Levin

Release Date:

12 October 1973 (Finland)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot Keywords:

Microphone | 1970s | Film Clip | Musician | 1950s

Cast

Shirley Alston	...	Herself (as The Shirelles)
Chuck Berry	...	Himself
Bill Haley and the Comets	...	Themselves (archive footage)
Ray Cawley	...	Comets musician (as Bill Haley and the Comets)
Chubby Checker	...	Himself
Buddy Dee	...	Comets musician (as Bill Haley and the Comets)
Bo Diddley	...	Himself
Fats Domino	...	Himself
The Five Satins	...	Themselves (archive footage)
Bill Haley	...	Himself
Micki Harris	...	Herself (as The Shirelles)
Chuck Huffman	...	Comets musician (as Bill Haley and the Comets)
Doris Kenner-Jackson	...	Herself (as The Shirelles)
Beverly Lee	...	Herself (as The Shirelles)
Little Richard	...	Himself
Fred Parris	...	Himself (as The 5 Satins)
Ray Parsons	...	Comets musician (as Bill Haley and the Comets)
Rudy Pompilli	...	Himself (saxophonist, The Comets) (as Bill Haley and the Comets)
The Shirelles	...	Themselves (archive footage)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Company:

Cinema Associates (III)

Trivia:

Despite the fact that he was promoted as one of the main stars of this film, none of 'Berry, Chuck''s songs -- including his duet with Bo Diddley at the end of the film -- appear on the original soundtrack LP.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Shake, Rattle and Roll

A great Rock and Roll Revival Film that needs to be revived...

This is a great movie for those who grew up in the 1950's. I didn't. I wasn't born until 1962, but when I was a young tyke, I had to see this movie from the moment I saw the TV spot advertising it on television. Dad and I went out to the newest theater in Austin-- the four-plex was the newest and biggest theater in the Austin area, with an name to mystify those reading the ads ~~~~The Aquarius 4, it was called. The movie was loaded with all kinds of footage from the 1950's, and included in this footage was some ancient looking film clips of the students in High School in Hicksville, NY. These students were demonstrating good and bad dress codes. On the left of the teacher were the ones dressed poorly with t-shirts, 'dungarees', open toed shoes, etc. And on the right, a group of kids that would make today's 90210 crowd look like the Peanut Gallery. In addition to this footage, there was other footage showing the fads of the day, the cars, Chuck Berry's tour bus sitting in a junk yard, and all kinds of things that I had never seen at the age of 11 or so. It was a collage of old films and reminders of an era past that people were trying to remember by the early 1970's. The makers of this film used a technique where they had one inmage on one side of the screen and another image on the other side. So, while the footage would roll on the right, you would see a modern-day Chuck Berry singing in concert. The film was half concert and half archival footage. It was a great film. The Shirelles were in the show live as was Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bill Haley, and Chuck Berry. The 5 Satins did a set too and let us not forget that 'guitar playing fool', Bo Diddley. Bo was there with his rectangular guitar, a pimp's hat with a feather and his uniquie timekeeping abilities. It was a memorable show. For some reason the makers of this film never released this again. It isn't on video, I have never seen it on television that I know of and all attempts at finding it on my favorite film guage (16mm) are futile. The only thing that I have been able to locate is a tv spot from the movie and this is valuable to me for the reasons above. I recommend this movie highly and I will never forget my experience with having seen this movie.