The Mills Bros and Fats Domino (and a guest appearance from 'The Diamonds') headline this enthusiastic but lackluster Universal film made I would guess because of the existence and box office of The Girl Can't Help It released the year before. Very short running time and rather pedestrian in tone - but in color - THE BIG BEAT is like a remake of Columbia's Rock Around the Clock - but in color - which might have been the production trade off for not having bigger genuine rocknroll stars and more footage: all to keep the budget the same as if it had. THE BIG BEAT is a compromise music drama of its era: lacking the fun and stars of The Girl Can't help It and actual rocknroll performers of any Columbia / Alan Freed movie - but in color. As a result it looks great but is slow and a bit dull. The Mills Bros and Fats Domino are terrific as always, but there is no youth energy present. Even Bill Haley and the Comets who certainly were not 20 when they broke through used their profile to be zany and hi energy on screen; Fats and Millzsz are smooth crooners: this is 1958, and the color cameras are turning! THE BIG BEAT lacks the big bounce. But! It's in color and for a 1958 radio music pic it's still good to see, even if you want to get the film out of first gear.
2 Reviews
You didn't need MTV or VH1with films like this.
mark.waltz4 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
From the beginning of rock and roll through the end of the beach party era, youngsters could get their fill of top musical artists and those who never went further than one single, an era I calculate approximately 1955 to 1968. Like many of those films, this has a shell of a plot, but when you've got the lineup of this one (most memorably Fats Domino), that hardly matters.
Most of the musical acts were very obscure to me, some more talented than others. There's a typical movie musical comic number provided by Rose Marie and Hans Conreid, corny but cute, and Gogi Grant has a swell voice too. The story surrounds young music executive William Reynolds efforts to modernize father Bill Goodwin's company, basically a generational thing, and a story so obviously resolved. A nice bit of late 50's nostalgia but outside of the musical guests, not worth searching out.
Most of the musical acts were very obscure to me, some more talented than others. There's a typical movie musical comic number provided by Rose Marie and Hans Conreid, corny but cute, and Gogi Grant has a swell voice too. The story surrounds young music executive William Reynolds efforts to modernize father Bill Goodwin's company, basically a generational thing, and a story so obviously resolved. A nice bit of late 50's nostalgia but outside of the musical guests, not worth searching out.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
