Juke Box Rhythm (1959)

While in New York to select her coronation wardrobe, Princess Ann is photographed dancing with Riff Manton, son of impoverished producer George Manton. A dress designer, Balenko, gives Riff... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Dreifuss

Writers:

Mary C. McCall Jr. (screenplay), Earl Baldwin (screenplay)

Stars:

Jo Morrow, Jack Jones, Brian Donlevy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jo Morrow	...	Princess Ann
Jack Jones	...	Riff Manton
Brian Donlevy	...	George Manton
Hans Conried	...	Balenko
Karin Booth	...	Leslie Anders
Marjorie Reynolds	...	Martha Manton
Frieda Inescort	...	Aunt Margaret
Edgar Barrier	...	Ambassador Truex
Fritz Feld	...	Ambrose
Hortense Petra	...	Nightclub Patron
George Jessel	...	George Jessel
Earl Grant	...	Earl Grant (as Earl Grant Trio)
The Nitwits	...	The Nitwits
Johnny Otis	...	Johnny Otis
The Treniers	...	Rock Group

Storyline

While in New York to select her coronation wardrobe, Princess Ann is photographed dancing with Riff Manton, son of impoverished producer George Manton. A dress designer, Balenko, gives Riff a large commission when Princess Ann buys her wardrobe from him and Riff uses the money to help his father produce a hit show, a Juke Box Jamboree.

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Plot Keywords:

princess | 

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Genres:

Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 1959 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clover Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The nightclub patron who mistakes George Jessel for Milton Berle is Hortense Petra, wife of producer Sam Katzman, who appears in similar bits in many of his films.

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Soundtracks

Make Room for the Joy
Music by Burt Bacharach
Lyrics by Hal David
Sung by Jack Jones

User Reviews

A Princess "Rocks" the Town

Lighthearted musical about a beautiful princess who arrives in New York City to pick her coronation wardrobe under the thumb and serious guidance of her aunt, the Countess, who doesn't approve of NYC or that "immoral music" the princess seems to like. Well, first night in town our princess sneaks out of her room and into the "Spring Hop" fraternity dance being held in her hotel where she meets handsome, singing Riff Manton (Jack Jones), a real ringer for a young Ricky Nelson. Soon it's agreed that Riff can take her to a classical concert - instead he sneaks her to the "Bop Inn" where the kids are swinging and George Jessel appears in person to sing and do comedy patter with the audience. And meanwhile - Riff is busy with a plan to try and get the princess to buy her wardrobe from a struggling fashion designer who has offered Riff the money in exchange for the recognition - which Riff plans to invest in his theatrical producer dad's upcoming new show "Juke Box Jamboree".

This is a fun, lightly entertaining film full of well-done dance numbers and musical performances like the Johnny Otis Band performing "Willie and the Hand Jive". The acting is acceptable, though nothing to write home about, the princess is revealed to have a great singing voice but that plot device is then just thrown away - and then there's the mystery of where in the world the princess and her aunt are actually from, considering they speak with perfect American accents. But none of that really matters - the story is interesting and the dancing and the music all good, and there's even a few fun-to-watch (though brief) fashion segments - all in all, a film worth seeing.