Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

When one sees Bill Haley and the Comets, we see a bunch of white guys, their leader with a spit curl on his forehead. The are portrayed as a band that has developed an incredible following. When a music producer tries to feature them, a bad guy moves in and tries to diminish their success. What this film is really all about, however, is to showcase Haley and the boys and allow us to see some other groups of the time. The Platters, who were an early group that crossed into the hot market of the fifties, are featured. Of course, even though this group plays in the film, the fact that black musicians had been doing rock for decades. Still, it's history and well worth a gander.

The movie's a good chance to catch R&R's anthem—Rock Around the Clock—done classic style by Bill Haley & His Comets. It's also a chance to catch the classic stylings of The Platters doing two of their biggest hits. Otherwise, the film's pretty forgettable. There's a rough backstory to connect the musical spots, which may also offer some insight into the industry, circa 1955. Otherwise the story is standard romantic stuff. The movie's release date indicates that brief period between R&R's inception and Elvis's meteoric rise, and so is unusual in that regard. One question—why the recurring dance act (Gaye & Barton)? They're good lively dancers, but didn't the producers think the new beat was enough. Anyway, to my knowledge, this was the first R&R movie, and a good opportunity to view the style in its pre-Elvis period.

After its inclusion in the hit film The Blackboard Jungle, the song "Rock Around the Clock" was such a smash hit that B-movie producer Sam Katzman decided to make a movie with that title and have the single's act, Bill Haley and the Comets, perform that one, "See You Later, Alligator" and a few others here. He also booked Freddie Bell and His Bellboys and The Platters for additional appeal. I wonder if this was the only time the latter group performed their hits, "Only You" and "The Great Pretender" for the big screen. It's mainly for what I cited above as well as being the first time that this was a picture that showcased Rock 'n' Roll nearly in its entirety that would give it interest today. Otherwise, it's just a mostly bland plot about a manager trying to give Haley and his combo their big break with complications like his former female manager girlfriend vs. his current one in teenage dancer Lisa Gaye. (Seeing him and Lisa suddenly kiss after just meeting gave me the creeps!) Also, the guy who coined the new music sound's name, Alan Freed, does his introductions when the acts come on. So on that note, Rock Around the Clock is well worth a look. Oh, and unlike the end of The Blackboard Jungle, when the title song here ended the movie, there was no Big Band flourish to finish it. P.S. While the one other musical act, Tony Martinez and His Band are good too, it's obvious that-as the plot implied-they have a different appeal, possibly to the potential "squares" in the audience. And one of the Platters-Paul Robi-was born in New Orleans which is a two hour drive from my current home town of Baton Rouge.

Though it wasn't the first film to mention "rock and roll," this is known as the "first real rock film" and it's a mixed bag. Basically it's a vehicle for rock and roll pioneer Bill Haley and his band, The Comets. In the very thin story, two square music managers realize that their old type of traditional dance music is dying out in favor of the latest "rock 'n' roll" fad. When they see Haley and the Comets perform their classic "See You Later Alligator" at a small town dance and witness all the kids dancing up a storm, they decide to try and get this group to play full-time and make it big. The film's not very interesting when it veers away from the music, but along the way we get several more Bill Haley songs (the famous title hit itself, plus "Razzle Dazzle," "Rock Rock Rock" and others), and we're also treated to The Bellboys. But the main attraction is easily The Platters, who expertly perform two of their big hits - "Only You" and "The Great Pretender". The latter is so fabulous it sends chills up the spine. **1/2 out of ****