Catalina Caper (1967).

The Scoop:
Get your flippy-floppies, people, because we're going on a boat!

The 1960s was awash in "Beach Party" knockoffs, and "Catalina Caper" was one of the worst of the bunch. While on a sunny summer vacation to Catalina Island, a group of groovy teens stop an inept group of upper crust thieves who are trying to smuggle some sort of valuable scroll out of the local museum, while rocking out to the occasional musical guest star. The intentions here are good and the acting and filmmaking are technically competent, but the story is a sorry mishmash.

If you're a B-movie fan, you find a lot of familiar faces here, including Tommy Kirk ("Mars Needs Women"), Del Moore ("Bachelor Father"), Jim Begg ("Village of the Giants"), Sue Casey ("Beach Girls and the Monster"), Michael Blodgett ("Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") and even Wonder Woman's" Lyle Wagonner. The musical numbers come courtesy of the Cascades, Carol Connors and the wildly out of place Little Richard.

These '60s teens-in-the-sun movies are always a fun diversion and worth your time -- even the ones with as many shortcomings as this one. It's worth checking out, even for the unintentional laughs.

Best Line:
"Look! The water fuzz!"

Side Note:
The Cascades' song "There's a New World Just Opening For Me" was written by Ray Davies of the Kinks.

Companion Viewing:
"Beach Party" (1963).

Links:
IMDb.
Daddy-O's Drive-In Dirt.

Take a Look:
Little Richard! On a boat! Singing about scuba diving! I know, right?

The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999).

The Scoop:
This sequel to the great Stephen King flick "Carrie" is a bit of a stretch -- Amy Irving is back, and so is the troubled, telekinetic teen girl, but this doesn't quite measure up to the original.

Irving reprises her role as Sue, the sole survivor of Carrie's prom night rampage, who is now a high school counselor. She spends a lot of time working with troubled student Rachel (Emily Bergl), whose best friend just committed suicide. And, oh yeah, she is also Carrie's long-lost half-sister, who inherited the same telekinetic abilities. As if that wasn't bad enough, she's a loner misfit who the "in" crowd wants to publicly humiliate at a big party. If you can't guess where things go from here, then you need to be hit with a big stick.

Bergl is pretty good as Rachel, but the script by Rafael Moreu is boring, cliched and abysmal in portraying the pressures of high school. Plus, the doggie ER scene is silly, and a mental institution called Arkham? Puh-leeeze. And let's not forget the hereditary explanation of the telekinesis.

But at least music supervisor Richard Winn gets bonus points for the terrific Billie Holiday soundtrack.

Stephen King, of course, had nothing to do with this completely unnecessary sequel, which should be your first warning sign. Stay away!

Best Bit:
The black veins popping up across Rachel's body.

Side Note:
This is Bergl's first film. She had previously only had a small part on the television series "Wasteland." She has since returned to the small screen as a regular in "Men in Trees" and "Southland."

Companion Viewing:
"Carrie" (1976).

Links:
IMDb.
Carrie... A Fan's Site.

Take a Look:
The trailer:

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957).

The Scoop:
This cult classic follows a formula pretty common in the late 1950s -- take a conventional B-movie concept and weld it onto a teen alienation story derived from "Rebel Without a Cause." Obviously, the B-movie theme this time around is lycanthropy.

A young Michael Landon (in tremendous spasms of scenery chewing) is Tony, a typical '50s version of a troubled teen who is sent to psychologist Dr. Brandon (Whit Bissell) to get his head straight. Unfortunately, the doctor is secretly a mad scientist who wants to use Tony as the test subject for some hypnotic devolutionary mumbo-jumbo that turns people into werewolves. In completely predictable fashion, Tony turns hairy, terrorizes his small town, turns on Dr. Brandon, then is put down by the authorities.

The make-up isn't bad, but otherwise the movie's huge financial success at the time has colored its perception today, making it far too overrated. Especially bad is the "Eeny Meeny Mieny Mo" song.

Best Line:
"It's my belief that these legends and myths died out with the invention of electricity."

Side Note:
Landon later returned to spoof this material in an episode of "Highway to Heaven" called "I Was a Middle-Aged Werewolf."

Companion Viewing:
Producer Herman Cohen's follow-up films, "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" (1957), "Blood of Dracula" (1957) and "How to Make a Monster" (1958).

Links:
IMDb.
HorrorFind.

Take a Look:
The trailer:


The full movie, part one:

Rock Around the Clock (1956).

The Scoop:
Rock 'n' roll music helped gain its legitimacy with this film, the first-ever rock 'n' roll movie. Bill Haley and the Comets play themselves in a story chronicling a small-town band with a new sound on its way to success. (The story, of course, had nothing at all to do with the band's real career path, but that's beside the point.)

There's plenty of music, provided not only by the Comets, but also by the Platters, Tony Martinez, and Freddie Bell and his Bellboys. Pioneering deejay Alan Freed is also along for the ride. The non-musical parts of the film (written pseudonymously by Robert E. Kent, directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Johnny Johnston, and Alix Talton) is strictly routine. But it is at least executed competently and doesn't drag the film down.

The box office success of this film launched the wave of '50s rock films, and it's still one of the best, filled with great music and great dancing.

Best Line:
Visitor: "Hey sister, what do you call that exercise you're getting?" / Dancing Girl: "It's rock 'n' roll, brother, and we're rockin' tonight!"

Side Note:
Although this was the first rock 'n' roll film, it was actually the second to feature a rock 'n' roll song on its soundtrack. The first was "Blackboard Jungle" (1955) whose opening credit theme was, of course, "Rock Around the Clock." It was delirious reaction to that film by teen audiences that helped get this film made.

Companion Viewing:
The whole wave of '50s rock 'n' roll films, including "Mister Rock and Roll" (1957), "Go, Johnny, Go!" (1958) and "Rock Rock Rock" (1956).

Links:
IMDb.
Hollywood Teen Movies.
Haley's Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame page.

Take a Look:
The trailer:

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Bill Haley and the Comets are discovered while performing "See You Later Alligator":


Freddie Bell and the Bellboys do "Giddy Up a Ding Dong":

The Happening (1967).

The Scoop:
Four of the cleanest beatniks/hippies you'll ever see (Michael Parks, Robert Walker Jr., George Maharis and Faye Dunaway) accidentally get talked into kidnapping Miami mobster Roc Delmonico (Anthony Quinn) then have to figure out what to do with him. When he finds out that no one wants to pay his ransom -- not his wife (Martha Hyer), not his business partner (Milton Berle and his bad mustache), not his mob boss (Oscar Homolka) -- Delmonico decides to take matters into his own hands.

The film starts out promisingly enough as the sort of campy unintentional comedy that was so prevelant at the time as the major studios tried (but failed) to understand and cater to the burgeoning counterculture movement. But it quickly devolves from there into a typically "wacky" (and unfunny) mainstream '60s comedy.

That's not to say there aren't a few bright spots after that first half hour. Quinn gives his all for the trite material like the old pro he is, and there are a few genuinely funny gags here and there.

And, of course, there's Dunaway at her most enchanting. "The Happening" was just her second film (following her debut in Otto Preminger's "Hurry Sundown" by just a month), and she would follow it up with her twin breakout roles in "Bonnie and Clyde" and "The Thomas Crown Affair."

But none of this is enough to save what is ultimately a snoozefest that works neither as a campy bad movie nor an unironic good movie. The film just falls flat in between, which might be the worst fate of all.

Best Line:
"Call the cops? That's socialism! Can't anyone do anything for themselves anymore?"

Side Note:
Composer Frank De Vol, who wrote both the score and the swinging Supremes songs on the soundtrack, had a second career as a television character actor, guest starring in a wide range of shows, such as "My Favorite Martian," "Get Smart," "Bonanza," "The Jeffersons" and "Silver Spoons."

Companion Viewing:
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963).

Links:
IMDb.

Take a Look:
The trailer:


The whole film in installments on the YouTube plan, beginning here:

Surf Party (1963).

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Let's Rock (1958).

The Scoop:
This is a rock 'n' roll movie? Uh.... I think not. Instead, the film perfectly encapsulates that bland post-Elvis, pre-Beatles period in pop music when everything on the charts was saccharine-coated and aimed at pleasing the parents, not the kids.

"Let's Rock" follows boring balladeer Tony Adane (Julius LaRosa) as he tries to stay true to his "art" by resisting the shift to rock 'n' roll, only to eventually give in at the end and get the girl (Phyllis Newman). In short, strictly by-the-numbers work from writer Hal Hackady and director Harry Foster. That's fairly par for the course in these early rock 'n' roll movies, which get their strength on the backs of their musical performances. These films were merely meant to showcase the recording artists -- any plot we might get is purely incidental.

However, the examples of "rock 'n' roll" on display here (performed by Paul Anka and the like) aren't much different than Tony's tunes. In fact, the rockingest song in the film is the innocuous "At the Hop," performed by Danny and Juniors. The only reason to even consider watching this, besides the appearances by the young Wink Martindale and Della Reese, is the ongoing (purely unintentional but amusing) homoerotic subtext between Tony and his "entourage."

Best Bit:
The weird dancing kids in the park.

Side Note:
Reese didn't appear on screen again for another 11 years, when she hosted her own TV series, "Della," starting in 1969, and didn't make another film until "Psychic Killer" in 1975.

Companion Viewing:
All the better early rock 'n' roll films.

Links:
IMDb.

Take a Look:
Here's a totally low-tech clip of Reese singing "Lovelyville":

The Lively Set (1964).

The Scoop:
This descendant of the '50s road racing movies plays more like a beach party film on wheels, right down to the casting of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello look-alikes James Darren and Pamela Tiffin. There's some wacky comedy, a little music, and lots of innocent flirtation between the boys and the girls -- with the action transplanted from the beach to the race track.

The movie's primary purpose seems to be to spread the good news about Chrysler's then-new Turbine Car, which promised to be the wave of the future (and we all know how well that turned out). Here's the plot, not that it matters: Casey (Darren) and his buddy Chuck (Doug McClure) are whiz kid mechanics who are hired by snobby playboy Stanford (Peter Mann) to build a super-fast car for the Big Race. Casey and Chuck come up with a jet car powered by a turbine engine of their own design (played by the Chrysler engine), but when a test run fails, Stanford fires them. So, they fix up the engine and use it to race against Stanford in the Big Race. Meanwhile Chuck's sister Eadie (Tiffin) hangs around and makes google eyes at Casey.

This film also features appearances by racing stars, such as Mickey Thompson and Bill Krause. There are worse places to find mindless fun, I suppose...

Best Bit:
Casey's recitation of drag racing rules as foreplay. What's more, it works.

Side Note:
One song, "Look at Me," was written by Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman and another, "Boss Barracuda," is performed by the Surfaris -- both feature lead vocals by future game show host Wink Martindale.

Companion Viewing:
"The Roadracers" (1959) and the original "Speed Racer" TV cartoon series.

Links:
IMDb.
Imperial After Dark.
Turbine Car User.

Take a Look:
Want to buy this guy's copy of the DVD?

Blood of Dracula (1957).

The Scoop:
What an odd little movie.

What starts out as just another quickie about misunderstood teens in the usual "Blackboard Jungle"-knockoff mode of AIP soon takes a turn for the surreal in this story of a female teacher (Louise Lewis) at an all-girls school who uses her vampire powers to prey on the student body, led by Sandra Harrison.

This is another Herman Cohen production, made to capitalize on the success of "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" and "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein." It doesn't hold up as well in comparison to those two films, but "Blood of Dracula" has it's own charms, mostly in the way the weird horror elements are so awkwardly grafted onto the standard teen cheapie formula. Sometimes the changes are so swift, you can get whiplash if you're not careful. Thinly veiled lesbianism abounds, giving the clean-cut image of '50s lovesick teens a mind-bending twist. And, as if that wasn't enough, bland crooner Jerry Blaine interrupts all the sexual tension, hypnotism and vampire stalkings to sing his hit song "Puppy Love."

Despite all of its shortcomings in terms of acting and stale plot, this is one you don't want to miss.

(And, sorry to disappoint you, but Dracula doesn't actually appear in this movie.)

Best Bit:
This exchange, prompted by the visit by Jerry Blaine: "We pass him around like a jug of water on a lifeboat." / "Yeah. One swallow for every girl."

Side Note:
Unfortunately, this was Harrison's only starring role. The rest of her filmography consists of an unbilled role in "Desire Under the Elms" and appearances in single episodes of the television shows "The Adventures of Superman" and "Burke's Law."

Companion Viewing:
"I Was a Teenage Werewolf" (1957) and "Girls' Town" (1959).

Links:
IMDb.
Horrorfind.
1,000 Misspent Hours.
Herman Cohen: The Man and His Movies.

Take a Look:
This trailer captures the whiplash-style change of genre pretty accurately:

Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979).

The Scoop:
The Ramones were at their creative peak for only a few years short years in the mid- to late-'70s before commencing a quick slide into self-parody and irrelevance in the '80s. But in that short time, their impact was almost incalculable. They practically invented the American strain of punk rock (a few predecessors notwithstanding) by stripping away the 20 years' worth of artifice and mannerisms that had accumulated around rock music and returning it to its simple 1950s rebel roots, albeit with more threatening modern undertones. In short, by getting back to basics they launched a revolution.

And, in an odd way, "Rock 'n' Roll High School" is the best record of that revolution.

The film, one of scholckmeister producer Roger Corman's best, distills the best parts of formulaic 1950s rock 'n' roll youth movies into a fun, high energy B-movie classic. Part of that energy comes from the Ramones, whose best songs blanket the soundtrack. But part of it also comes from the charming performance of P.J. Soles, who plays Riff Randell, the die-hard fan who will do anything to attend the upcoming Ramones concert and meet her idols. Also along for the ride are Clint Howard (at his best as the teenage svengali Eaglebauer, absolutely a character for the ages), Vincent Van Patten and B-movie stalwarts Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov and Dick Miller.

So much about rebellious, youth-oriented rock 'n' roll is ephemeral -- even the greatest bands shine bright for only a short time before they become routine and establishmentarian. This film captures that brief moment in the Ramones' career perfectly.

Best Line:
"Things sure have changed since we got kicked out of high school."

Side Note:
The Ramones got the part only after a number of other acts turned it down, including Devo, Van Halen, Cheap Trick and Todd Rundgren.

Another Side Note:
Uncredited contributions abound in this movie. Director Allan Arkush got unbilled assistance from both Joe ("Gremlins") Dante and Jerry ("Airplane!") Zucker. Meanwhile, among the rockin' high school kids are Germs lead singer Darby Crash and legendary stunt performers Debbie Evans and Jack Gill.

Companion Viewing:
"Rock Around the Clock" (1956) and "Grease" (1978).

Links:
IMDb.

Take a Look:
The trailer:


The Ramones video for the theme song:

High School Confidential (1958).

The Scoop:
Another in the long line of '50s teen exploitation movies, "High School Confidential" has all the makings of a campfest. However, this one sets itself apart by featuring a script (by Robert Blees and Lewis Meltzer) that presents a mature and insightful handling of drug use among teens. While this could have been another predictable screed against wild youth, it instead turns the tables by making the adults the real drug pushers and having the kids band together to bring them down.

Russ Tamblyn stars as an undercover cop who teams up with student Jan Sterling to infiltrate a high school pot and heroin ring run by local big shot Jackie Coogan. The film also features performances by less-successful Hollywood scions (and '50s teen movie mainstays) John Drew Barrymore and Charles Chaplin, Jr., as well as Mamie Van Doren in the improbable role of Tamblyn's sex-crazed aunt. Jerry Lee Lewis makes a couple of brief appearances performing the title song.

The place to start exploring this genre is "Blackboard Jungle," the one that started it all. But after that, make "High School Confidential" your next stop.

Best Line:
"If you flake around with the weed, you'll end up using the harder stuff."

Side Note:
Van Doren and Chaplin later appeared together in the much campier "Girls' Town" (1959).

Companion Viewing:
"Blackboard Jungle" (1955).

Links:
IMDb.
Hollywood Teen Movies.

Take a Look:
You get two for the price of one -- the trailer AND Jerry Lee Lewis throwing it down in the opening credits:


Mamie does her thing:

Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956).

The Scoop:
Rock, rock, rock bottom is more like it.

This is easily the worst of the early wave of rock and roll movies. The plot -- which is amateurishly directed (by Will Price) and written (by Milton Subotsky, who also served as musical director), and little more than an afterthought -- is about a high school girl (played by Tuesday Weld with her singing voice very obviously dubbed by Connie Francis) who becomes a loan shark to afford a prom dress. Meanwhile, Alan Freed does a TV show with an endless parade of '50s rock acts, including Chuck Berry, the Moonglows and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

These musical interludes provide the only redeeming aspect of this movie, of course, but they can only go so far. Especially when Freed himself sings a song. It takes a special appreciation for bad moviemaking to sit through this one without reaching for the fast-forward button to find the next musical act.

Best Line:
The line from Ivy "Baby" Schulmann's song "Baby Wants to Rock" which sounds like "I don't want a lollypop in my ass," but probably is something else entirely.

Side Note:
One of the anonymous teens providing background ambience for Weld's shenanigans is a young Valerie Harper.

Companion Viewing:
"Mister Rock 'n' Roll" (1957).

Links:
IMDb.
Hollywood Teen Movies.

Take a Look:
The trailer: